The Secret to Superhuman Strength

A true delight of graphic literature, and nobody does it better. You feel as if you're peering through a plexiglass panel right into Bechdel's marvelous brain. --New York Times Book Review Color? It's the first sign that something new is afoot in a book full of familiar flourishes [including] the figure of Bechdel herself, drawn as a bit of a cross between Tintin and Waldo, vibrating with anxiety, doing her best to flee herself on bike or skis or simply afoot....It's [an] accumulating ease we feel in this book--a supple, loose-limbed grace; an absence of fear that translates into simplicity, discipline and modesty. --New York Times Astonishing . . . utterly absorbing --The Atlantic [Bechdel] set out to write a light book about her lifelong commitment to exercise, including stints as a cyclist, climber, skier and yogi. As usual, her story and art are about so much more -- the realities of aging, the quest for transcendence and the drumbeat of mortality. --Washington Post The book is certainly light and fun in parts, but like 2006's Fun Home and 2012's Are You My Mother?, the new work is a wonderland of literary allusions and introspection. The delight of reading an Alison Bechdel book is in watching the author make mind-blowing connections from seemingly disparate sources, and feeling like you're soul-searching right along with her . . . The Secret to Superhuman Strength . . . is a wondrous exploration of how an obsession with exercise--'the sweat, the endorphins, the gear, the togs, the next new thing!'--can be self-care and a means of connecting with the world at large. --Oprah Daily [Bechdel] makes a strong case for the intrinsic interconnectedness of creativity, spirituality, and an elevated heart rate . . . The Secret to Superhuman Strength could stand alone as an entertaining look back at the rise of various American workout trends. But it's much more than that . . . With this book, Bechdel establishes her place in a long line of progressive thinkers who have sought spiritual growth via physical activity. --Outside.com Alison Bechdel's literary, illustrated dive into a lifetime of fitness fads--from skiing to karate to yoga--is characteristically expansive and profound. --Vanity Fair . . . An effort to see beyond herself and recognize her oneness with the world. In Bechdel's inimitable storytelling and comics style, as in her much-loved and -lauded Fun Home (2006) and Are You My Mother? (2012), this is sprawling and dense in the best way, and her legions of fans will devour it. --Booklist, starred review Grappling with the desire for spiritual transcendence in the most intensely personal terms, Bechdel achieves a tricky--even enlightening--balance. --Publishers Weekly, starred review Alison Bechdel finally turns her gaze on herself, with beautiful results . . . As ever, Bechdel satirizes and analyzes herself with a sharp, knowing, but affectionate touch that is observant without being solipsistic. This is a thoughtful, funny and ruminative autobiography whose intensity is leavened with surprising notes of grace. --Minneapolis Star-Tribune The Secret to Superhuman Strength is Alison Bechdel's third graphic memoir and, amazingly, her third triumph. --Vulture Engrossing, pensive. &mdas--No Source