Her adversaries have been many, and formidable. Those who dictated the ideal shape of her female body and the correct dimensions of her sexuality as she emerged from a childhood in the south, ensnared in sexual exploitation and a spiral of anorexia. The teachers who attempted to extinguish her ambition and identity as a creative artist -- because female writing could not possibly rise above the trivial. The politics of art and sexuality that continue to litter her path as a lesbian academic and a serious artist.In this extraordinary and unforgettable memoir, Carol Guess brilliantly illuminates the path to art and to individuality.