The Secret to Superhuman Strength ★★★★☆

The Secret to Superhuman Strength (Click Here To Buy)

★★★★☆

The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel is a graphic novel about the author’s relationship to exercising.

I checked this book out from the library.

Bechdel traces her life in 10 year increments, citing what was going on for her, externally and internally, as well as major exercise fads of the day. Bechdel talks about her first times skiing as a child and the joy that she felt in the experience as well as how she developed a love for biking long distances. Bechdel recounts becoming a black belt in martial arts...and then getting a black eye on the subway or biking to a meditation retreat but then leaving her camping poles in someone's car. Concurrently, Bechdel talks about prominent figures throughout history including Margaret Fuller and Jack Keroac and how they too searched for internal and external strengths.

The drawings in this book are 8 stars - I remain fascinated that not only does Bechdel choose to write relevant and insightful memoirs but then when she's done she illustrates the whole thing. My only issue is that it's not really about exercise and some of the historical figures that she talks about feel like such a stretch I'm not sure why she included them.

I have also read Fun Home by this author and I recommend it.

If you liked The Secret to Superhuman Strength, I also recommend The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances by Matthew Inman, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami, What It Is by Lynda Barry, and Spirit Run by Noe Alvarez.

Happy reading and training

Ms.Bjork