As someone who also has codependency issues, it was reassuring that all my feelings or thoughts were just isolated to me and ultimately made me feel less alone. And while the art style is not something I normally gravitate to, it was captivating enough since the story told within it was the substance I look for.

Ultimately, the book was a tough read since I found myself relating to the experiences shared and truly appreciated the author's vulnerability. I also find it hard to truly rate a book or memoir for the same reason as it feels almost "judgy". The ending also made it seem to me that the author is still searching for healing and stability, so I can only offer my hopes that outside of these pages, she has found what she's needed.

I hate rating graphic memoir poorly, as it's based on someone's life, but for all the talk of sex and relationship problems, I got tired of all the misery. The illustrations weren't particularly great and didn't add much to the text, which was "I used sex to feel loved" over and over. It was a chore to finish the book, but I pushed through, hoping for some self-realization. When it came, it was too little, too late for me as a reader. The conclusion is mixed and unsatisfying.

The book promised a blend of intrigue and emotional depth, delivering on its promise with surprises. Lila Ash, a talented cartoonist, candidly recounts her early life marked by intense romantic entanglements, focusing on personal growth and activism rather than mere drama. Her story serves as a reflective journey, urging readers to recognize unhealthy patterns and seek support. Despite debates on terms like "codependence," Ash’s narrative resonates with its message of resilience and self-discovery, offering hope and guidance to those navigating similar challenges.

Decodependence tells the story of Lila (creator) and her personal struggles with mental health, mental illness and codependency. From teen years on, she struggled with finding a place in the world and her fairy tale fantasy. She does finally get the romance she wants only for it to fall apart over time and lead her to figuring out what is going on with her. This is a solid graphic novel title on codependency and readers might see themselves in the pages. There are resources at the end. The only draw back is that at a glance the book's artwork isn't as eye catching as say So Much For Love, but it's a solid read. (Granted, I was intrigued by the cover so the art is interesting to me). Libraries with big budgets should grab this. Good read-alike to So Much For Love. Graphic novel nonfiction.

As a graphic novel, this book hit the right spots–the color art was cool and funny, the story smacked of Y2K nostalgia, and the humor was refreshingly entertaining. There was something about this book that made me outwardly cringe often, though. And maybe that’s the point of the story, that it’s a young woman’s journey as she grows up and moves past all the horribly embarrassing moments. But that’s actually the main problem: the story doesn’t feel like it resolves. It felt rushed and unfinished and like there’s supposed to be a lesson to be learned here but the character hasn’t quite reached that point yet.

Besides that, the story ran a little cold as well. Lacking emotions, just very matter of fact, this-is-what-happened. I would have liked to feel something more for the main character, a sense of connection or companionship so that it could make me feel a type of way besides secondhand embarrassment.

Overall, the art and humor are the best reasons to pick up this book. Or if you’re a chismosa that likes to read about salacious escapades, then this one could be a good read. Don’t pick it up if you’re looking to learn a lesson or feel accomplished.

Codependence is a tough situation. We want to take care of someone and be taken care of in turn, but as a result we become prone to manipulation and exploitation. Then burnout ensues until we leave and crave the start of the cycle.

Lila struggles with the idea of being wanted. She hops into relationships with boys and men that take her for granted, learns inappropriate information about teachers of both genres, and tries to find her purpose. Easier said than done, especially when her parents get a divorce. But Lila realizes as an adult that things have to change, and she doesn't have to settle for guys that don't take her seriously.

While the formatting was strange on the ARC, I was able to read from beginning to end. My recommendation is that the publisher checks the headings on the review copies.

I love memoirs but often find them hard to rate. This was an interesting view into Lila's life. Interesting themes throughout. Ending left me a little wanting.

This book isn't as sexy as the cover makes it seem. I understand what the author is trying to do here, but it seemed more like a "learn from my mistakes" lecture rather than the more indirect reflection that I like in my memoirs.

Lila Ash does a brilliant job of making the difficult subject of codependency feel relatable and dare I say... funny??? 10/10 recommend!

This was not the book for me. I really love a graphic memoir and I eat them up. This one just was a little too much for me. I hate rating other people's lives though so I mean no harm. This just fell flat for me.

A heartfelt graphic memoir depiction Ash's struggle with mental health and codependancy. It was an honest and raw look into a topic that is not often discussed. While I found the art flat and lackluster, the story held my interest enough to enjoy my time reading. Ash is a talented storyteller and was able to tastefully execute humor and fun into an otherwise serious topic.

A solid read for anyone interested in that side of mental health.

This title was unique and interesting. The narrative was raw and revealing. Not a terrific fit for my high school English class, but I enjoyed it.

I'll write a better review when it comes out. The review copy has a watermark that's extremely distracting and covers 1/3 of every page. I don't think I can give it a fair review because of that. Based on the description I'm giving it 4 stars for now.

It feels strange to give three stars to a memoir, but I came up with that because--despite the strong emotional threads to the story and outlining the importance of boundaries--the lackluster graphics brought down the story for me. I'm also not a fan of books in which the entire story reads like the protagonist's therapy session, so that also influenced me. (I did appreciate how much I learned about codependent relationships, though.)

'Decodepende' by Lila Ash is a graphic memoir about the author's experience with codependence. It is a heavy book with beautiful art.

Lila Ash does a wonderful job in this book of sharing the trauma that she endured through various codependent relationships. So much of this book felt like a wake up call as well as a close friend validating so much of a typical lifestyle in our society. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone exploring healthier relationships in their lives and finding how to be their happiest and healthiest self.

3.75
This book was pretty interesting. The big watermark didn't really help but I understand why it was there. I liked the reoccurring motif of the cover image. It's not the most interesting thing that i've read which is why I'm only giving it 3.75 stars. I liked the artwork!

Thank you to Netgalley and Chronicle Books, Princeton Architectural Press for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The tragicomic, Codependence, is a vulnerable look at one woman's lifelong struggle with codependency within her romantic and sexual relationships. The art was visually appealing and easy to follow, and the author did a good job of injecting humor into a story with an otherwise difficult subject matter..

The ending was a bit rushed, but overall, this was a good read.

TW (including but not limited to): substance abuse. abusive relationships, drugs, alcohol, divorce, etc.

CW/TW: Underage Drug usage, underage alcohol abuse, underage sexual situations

Decodependence: A Romantic Tragicomic, a graphic novel by Lila Ash, is a memoir that is nothing short of vulnerable with a bite of humor on the side. Ash does an incredible job laying out the reflections of past relationships and navigating her recovery of codependency.

Artwork:
As this is a graphic novel, I do want to comment on the art. Lila Ash’s artwork is personally not the type that I would purchase and hang up in my home. However, from a graphic novel standpoint, specifically for this story, it worked for me. The clean lines of the artwork gave way to allow for gritty details and frames that evoked the memory flashes of the author’s story.

Font:
This is where the book loses me. I hope that because it was an ARC it was not the final for publication. The font chosen for the layout was crunched and overall did not fit with the vibe of the story and looked better suited for a corporate job PowerPoint.

My Thoughts:

Whew! This one was quite difficult to read. Mostly because of how relatable some of those exact scenes were. They made me feel uncomfortable, brought up memories I purposefully stored away. And in that aspect, I give incredible kudos to the author for sharing this part of their life with the world. They bring up the earliest stages of where the codependency was influenced from their childhood through their present state.

While the book description touts this as a story of recovery, I do believe that the story ends almost at the beginning of the end of recovery for our storyteller. I am not sure if this was the author’s intent, I can only assume it was as anyone who goes through recovery, therapy, etc knows that the journey never ends. You are constantly working on yourself which is an aspect and reality I greatly appreciated from this story.

Depending on how you see it, the book does not tie in a pretty bow because it is not fiction, this is a memoir of real life and if there’s something to take away from this book is that if you found it relatable, hopefully it made you feel less alone. ❤️

**Thank you to Netgalley & Chronicle Books for an ARC of this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the Advanced Readers Copy of Decodependence by Lila Ash!