• Home
  • About
    ▼
    • What is Graphic Medicine?
    • Graphic Medicine International Collective
      ▼
      • GMIC Board Resources
    • Website Team
    • Related Sites
      ▼
      • Medicina Grafica
      • Japanese Graphic Medicine Association
      • Pathographics
  • Latest
    ▼
    • News
    • The Inaugural Graphic Medicine Award
    • The Drawing Together Archive
    • Spotlight Archive
  • Reviews
    ▼
    • All
    • Editor’s Picks
    • Graphic Novels
    • Educational
    • Manga
    • Write A Review!
  • Conferences
    ▼
    • 2022 Graphic Medicine Conference
    • The Graphic Medicine 2021 UnConvention Archive
    • 2020 Toronto Conference
    • 2019 Brighton Conference
    • 2018 Vermont Conference
    • 2017 Seattle Conference
      ▼
      • Home
      • Program
      • Registration (NOW CLOSED)
      • Lodging in Seattle
      • 2017 Seattle Conference Sponsors
      • Call for Art
      • Press/Media Inquiries
    • 2016 Dundee Conference
    • 2015 Riverside Conference
    • 2014 Baltimore Conference
      ▼
      • Home
      • Program 2014
        ▼
        • Program 2014
        • Keynote Speakers 2014
        • Marketplace 2014
        • Juried Exhibit 2014
        • Call for Papers 2014 (closed)
      • Accommodation & Travel 2014
        ▼
        • Accommodation & Travel 2014
        • Additional hotel suggestions
      • Sponsors 2014
      • Baltimore Restaurants & Attractions
      • FAQs 2014
      • Registration 2014 (closed)
    • 2013 Brighton Conference
    • 2012 Toronto Conference
    • 2011 Chicago Conference
    • 2010 London Conference
  • MultiMedia
    ▼
    • Podcasts
    • Graphic Medicine Video Archive
    • Graphic Medicine Exhibits
  • Resources
    ▼
    • Essential Graphic Medicine: An Annotated Bibliography
    • COVID-19 Comics
    • The Drawing Together Archive
    • National Library of Medicine Graphic Medicine Exhibit
    • Liaison Program
    • Publishers
    • RESEARCH
    • TEACHING
    • GRAPHIC MEDICINE CONFAB ARCHIVE
  • Merch/Support
    ▼
    • Bookshop Store
    • 2021 Un-Convention MERCH
    • 2022 Conference Merch
    • RedBubble Store
    • DONATE
  • Contact
    ▼
    • Contact Form/Email
    • Social Media
Graphic Medicine
  • Home
  • About
    • What is Graphic Medicine?
    • Graphic Medicine International Collective
      • GMIC Board Resources
    • Website Team
    • Related Sites
      • Medicina Grafica
      • Japanese Graphic Medicine Association
      • Pathographics
  • Latest
    • News
    • The Inaugural Graphic Medicine Award
    • The Drawing Together Archive
    • Spotlight Archive
  • Reviews
    • All
    • Editor’s Picks
    • Graphic Novels
    • Educational
    • Manga
    • Write A Review!
  • Conferences
    • 2022 Graphic Medicine Conference
    • The Graphic Medicine 2021 UnConvention Archive
    • 2020 Toronto Conference
    • 2019 Brighton Conference
    • 2018 Vermont Conference
    • 2017 Seattle Conference
      • Home
      • Program
      • Registration (NOW CLOSED)
      • Lodging in Seattle
      • 2017 Seattle Conference Sponsors
      • Call for Art
      • Press/Media Inquiries
    • 2016 Dundee Conference
    • 2015 Riverside Conference
    • 2014 Baltimore Conference
      • Home
      • Program 2014
        • Program 2014
        • Keynote Speakers 2014
        • Marketplace 2014
        • Juried Exhibit 2014
        • Call for Papers 2014 (closed)
      • Accommodation & Travel 2014
        • Accommodation & Travel 2014
        • Additional hotel suggestions
      • Sponsors 2014
      • Baltimore Restaurants & Attractions
      • FAQs 2014
      • Registration 2014 (closed)
    • 2013 Brighton Conference
    • 2012 Toronto Conference
    • 2011 Chicago Conference
    • 2010 London Conference
  • MultiMedia
    • Podcasts
    • Graphic Medicine Video Archive
    • Graphic Medicine Exhibits
  • Resources
    • Essential Graphic Medicine: An Annotated Bibliography
    • COVID-19 Comics
    • The Drawing Together Archive
    • National Library of Medicine Graphic Medicine Exhibit
    • Liaison Program
    • Publishers
    • RESEARCH
    • TEACHING
    • GRAPHIC MEDICINE CONFAB ARCHIVE
  • Merch/Support
    • Bookshop Store
    • 2021 Un-Convention MERCH
    • 2022 Conference Merch
    • RedBubble Store
    • DONATE
  • Contact
    • Contact Form/Email
    • Social Media
Home / Comic Reviews / Comic Books / Billy, Me & You: A Memoir of Grief and Recovery

Billy, Me & You: A Memoir of Grief and Recovery

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Author: Nicola Streeten

Format: Paperback

Pages: 216

Publish Date: October 27, 2011

Publisher: Myriad Editions

Catalog ID: ISBN-10:0956559948 ISBN-13:978-0956559944

Where to buy: http://www.amazon.uk/ Billy-Me-You-memoir-recovery/dp/0956559948

Author website: http://home.btconnect.com/nicolastreeten/indexns12.htm

Review

Guest review by Dr. Sathyaraj Venkatesan and Anu Mary Peter, National Institute of Technology, India.

Review

Published in 2011 by Myriad Editions, Billy, Me & You: A Memoir of Grief and Recovery (hereafter Billy, Me & You) is a graphic memoir by Nicola Streeten, an illustrator and academic. Serialized initially in Liquorice magazine, Billy, Me & You was later collected into a graphic novel thirteen years after the death of Billy, author’s first child who died after cardiac surgery at the age of two. Suffused with subtle humor, if the memoir chronicles the complexities of human grief and bereavement it also deftly records the emotional trials of the author through full page-cartoon illustrations which Streeten herself characterizes as “imperfect, like life.”

Streeten, at variance with other memoirists, has challenged the cathartic unleashing of grief through writing, maintaining that “it may be cathartic for some, but for me it was a work of art. Not therapy.” Interestingly, by explicitly inviting the reader through the use of the second person pronoun (“You” in the title), the author makes the reader a significant part of the book, thereby offering a profound truth: that grief is to be shared.

With humor and humility, Streeten reconstructs her memories through the diary and journal entries written after Billy’s death. Streeten takes the reader abruptly to 19 September 1995 and the aftermath of her child’s death: sketch of Streeten and her husband, John Plowman, leaving the hospital carrying the a bag of Billy’s clothes is the opening scene. From there onwards the journal becomes the blotting paper which captures the author’s emotions. Divided into two sections, part one of Billy, Me & You portrays the horrors of coping with the death of someone dear and the emotional mayhem that follows, while part two reflects on the theme of time – the healer – and how the author makes peace with her past. The memoir ends with the birth of the couple’s daughter, Sally, and the promise of a new beginning. The archivist in Streeten extends the book to a recollection of the background facts of publishing of Billy, Me & You as the Afterword.

Another interesting aspect of the narrative is Streeten’s purposeful use of archives. Realizing the force of archives, as it were, Streeten deftly arranges photographs of Billy’s toys, letters, journals, newspaper cuttings and legal documents to bear upon the emotional truth and authenticity of the narrative. Deploying archives as a convenient route to the past, Streeten artfully reincarnates Billy and, in so doing, the author insists that past and present are always present.

A graphic memoir with manifold themes, Billy, Me & You cerebrates an array of themes ranging from fatality to feminism. Accordingly, the narrative offers an intrapsychic experience of grief coupled with a scathing criticism of the absurdities and taboos related to death and mourning. The narrative also reviews the massive industry which is made out of one mellow emotion called grief, particularly the American obsession with support groups like ‘Dead Baby Club,’ ‘National Meeting of Bereaved Parents,’ among others. As if these were not enough, Steeten in the Afterword uncovers the sexist and elitist attitudes of academia towards women comic writers and the comics medium. Specifically, Streeten underscores the struggles of women comic writers for a space of their own in the industry. Though woven out of melancholy, the memoir ends with a note to the many bereaved: “Let there be hope.”

Works Cited:

“Nicola Streeten Interview on BBC Radio Lincolnshire.” N.d. Web. May 05. 2015.

Henley, John. “Coping with the Death of a Child.” The Guardian Oct 15. 2011. Web. May 05. 2015.

Comments

  1. PUSHPANATHAN S says

    Jun. 3, 2015 at 4:57 am

    THIS REVIEW WILL MAKE THE READER BUY A COPY OF BILLY ME &YOU AND EMOTIONALLY SHARE THE GRIEF WITH NICOLA

    Thanks for nice review

    Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Graphic Medicine

Graphic Medicine is a site that explores the interaction between the medium of comics and the discourse of healthcare. We are a community of academics, health carers, authors, artists, and fans of comics and medicine. The site is maintained by an editorial team under the direction of the Graphic Medicine International Collective.

Subscribe to Graphic Medicine

Join our email list to keep up with the latest Graphic Medicine news!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Visit Our Sister Site for Spanish Readers

Visit Our Sister Site for Japanese Readers

Visit the Pathographics Project

© 2007 - 2022 Graphic Medicine International Collective

WordPress Developer