"I hate the sound of my footsteps. They indicate my presence in the world. I want to be a thing without mass, devoid of matter, drained of all substance. I want to become nothing."

After her weight loss, Helen becomes a fashion model obsessed with money, confidence, attention, and being skinny. After an encounter with a more beautiful model, her confidence is shattered, leading to an addiction to starvation, taking her life on a downward spiral.

This is a harrowing and bleak story about a woman's life spiraling out of control due to societal pressures of being beautiful. The reader sees life through Helen's eyes and her skewed perception of what beauty is and how to maintain it. It doesn't help that the people around her enable these behaviours by reinforcing her thoughts with compliments and unnecessary comments, causing her to further deteriorate.

Morrison does an amazing job tackling a sensitive topic with so much heart and emotion. The writing is beautiful and really effects you on so many levels. Following Helen's journey is like a punch to the gut because it is shocking and unsettling and emotional. 

"Beauty is the only commodity that matters."