Autobiography of a Face is a memoir by Lucy Grealy in which she narrates her life before and after being diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma.

In this memoir, she narrates the consequences of the disease in her emotional life as well as the physical implications that it had on her face, which resulted in a lifetime of self-consciousness.

When interviewed about the memoir in 1994 by Charley Rose, the author explained that the book's principal theme was identity.

[citation needed] The memoir first began as an essay, entitled Mirrorings, she was commissioned to write for an anthology.

Prior to its publication in the anthology Grealy sold the essay to Harper's Magazine where it attracted enough attention to secure her an agent and a book deal.

The memoir thoroughly describes her operation and her experience with anesthesia and says that back to school she felt like a warrior for experiencing something the other kids had not.

When Lucy returns to school after missing much of fifth grade, boys start bullying her and making fun of her appearance.

As she encounters adulthood, being fulfilled with her career and having experienced some romantic relationships, Lucy starts to accept her image as it is and stops waiting for the physical beauty that will make her happy.