The Secret to Superhuman Strength
The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2021, is a graphic memoir that explores the author’s lifelong relationship with exercise and fitness trends. Spanning 231 pages, this work presents a humorous yet profound narrative that intertwines Bechdel’s personal experiences with the evolution of fitness culture, from the 1960s to contemporary practices.
Readers will find a richly layered account that reflects on various fitness fads while delving into deeper themes of self-improvement and personal growth. Bechdel’s journey is marked by encounters with Eastern philosophy and literary figures, including Jack Kerouac, as she navigates the complexities of her own identity and the realization that true strength lies in recognizing her connections with others. This edition offers an insightful look into the intersection of health, fitness, and personal memoir, making it a notable addition to the genres of biography and graphic novels.
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The Best Graphic Book of 2021 by Publishers Weekly | A New York Times Best Graphic Novel of 2021 | A New York Times Notable Book | An Autostraddle Best Queer Book of the Year | A Boston Globe Best Book of the Year | A St. Louis Post Dispatch Best Book of the Year | NPR, 12 Books NPR Staffers Loved | Shelf Awareness Best Books of 2021
From the author of Fun Home, a profoundly affecting graphic memoir of Bechdel’s lifelong love affair with exercise, set against a hilarious chronicle of fitness fads in our times
Comics and cultural superstar Alison Bechdel delivers a deeply layered story of her fascination, from childhood to adulthood, with every fitness craze to come down the pike: from Jack LaLanne in the 60s (“Outlandish jumpsuit! Cantaloupe-sized guns!”) to the existential oddness of present-day spin class. Readers will see their athletic or semi-active pasts flash before their eyes through an ever-evolving panoply of running shoes, bicycles, skis, and sundry other gear. But the more Bechdel tries to improve herself, the more her self appears to be the thing in her way. She turns for enlightenment to Eastern philosophers and literary figures, including Beat writer Jack Kerouac, whose search for self-transcendence in the great outdoors appears in moving conversation with the author’s own. This gifted artist and not-getting-any-younger exerciser comes to a soulful conclusion. The secret to superhuman strength lies not in six-pack abs, but in something much less clearly defined: facing her own non-transcendent but all-important interdependence with others.
A heartrendingly comic chronicle for our times.
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