Lucy Grealy At one point or another, everyone has felt shame and self-doubt about physical inferiority. In Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy's struggle with cancer appeared minor in comparison to her feelings of repulsiveness because of the deformity it caused. While coming to terms with who she is, the effects of society's stress on beauty and its unforgiving cultural mirror is enhanced by her gender. Females in our society feel more compelled to adapt to the prescribed standards of attractiveness. By means of positive and negative events, she transforms her misfortune into a revelation about beauty and universal truths. The confusion and loneliness of childhood b