Middle Distance
By Mylo Choy
Paperback, 152 pp, $19.99
A charming, heartwarming, and poignant story of running and self-acceptance, Mylo Choy’s Middle Distance combines exertion and introspection in an exploration of the physical body’s connection to the human experience. An exciting graphic addition to a growing field, this sports memoir recounts Mylo’s history with running, and how their love for that famously solitary sport pushed them to grow over time.
As Middle Distance grapples with themes of resilience, identity, and self-care, Mylo leads us along the middle way between motion and rest, hurt and healing, fear and joy. The result is an honest, nuanced work of subtle power that will appeal to all runners, especially those who are transgender or nonbinary.
The development of this book was made possible by the Tracksmith Fellowship
The development of this book was made possible by the Tracksmith Fellowship
Mylo Choy
Mylo Choy finds comfort in the spaces between things. As a mixed-race and nonbinary person, moving between worlds feels like home to them. Born and raised in Wisconsin, they also developed a strong connection to Hawai’i, where their mother was born and raised. For over ten years, they were employed in outdoor education, living and working in many places, including Maine and Hawai’i, but mostly between New York City and the woods upstate. They currently live in the Hudson Valley, exploring planting roots in one place for a while. Mylo’s work — ranging from music to graphic stories and comics — uses the inherent tensions of multimedia to bring to life the space they inhabit between worlds. Inspired by nature’s ability to offer peace and perspective, their work is contemplative without being brooding, and soothing without being escapist. Middle Distance, published by SelfMadeHero, is their first full-length graphic novel.
Reviews
"Choy’s emotionally direct narrative voice is well served by their clear page layouts and simple, high-contrast black-and-white line... The result is a gently feel-good tale of self-empowerment."
— Publishers Weekly
"Sure, this is a graphic novel about running but it’s also a graphic novel about understanding how to connect with a body you’re not sure you understand and you’re not sure you belong in... It’s about finding yourself in and out and making the dream of being yourself a reality."
— Shiri Weinbaum Sondheimer