• Home
  • Comic Reviews
    ▼
    • All
    • Editor’s Picks
    • Graphic Novels
    • Comic Books
    • Educational
    • Manga
    • bandes dessinées
    • Web Comics
    • Picture Books
    • Unreviewed
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Conferences
    ▼
    • 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
  • Links
    ▼
    • Medicina Grafica (our sister site)
    • National Library of Medicine Graphic Medicine Exhibit
    • Online Articles
    • Comic Sites and Blogs
    • Author and Artist Sites
    • Medical Humanities
  • Publishers
  • About
    ▼
    • Who’s Behind Graphic Medicine?
    • Why “Graphic Medicine”?
    • A Short History of “Art” Comics
  • Contact
  • Shop/Support
Graphic Medicine
  • Home
  • Comic Reviews
    • All
    • Editor’s Picks
    • Graphic Novels
    • Comic Books
    • Educational
    • Manga
    • bandes dessinées
    • Web Comics
    • Picture Books
    • Unreviewed
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Conferences
    • 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
  • Links
    • Medicina Grafica (our sister site)
    • National Library of Medicine Graphic Medicine Exhibit
    • Online Articles
    • Comic Sites and Blogs
    • Author and Artist Sites
    • Medical Humanities
  • Publishers
  • About
    • Who’s Behind Graphic Medicine?
    • Why “Graphic Medicine”?
    • A Short History of “Art” Comics
  • Contact
  • Shop/Support
Home / Comic Reviews / Comic Books / Roses in December (And More)

Roses in December (And More)

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

Author: Tom Batiuk and Chuck Ayers

Format: paperback

Pages: 272

Publish Date: June 15, 2015

Publisher: Kent State University Press

Catalog ID: ISBN-13: 978-1606352649

Where to buy: http://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/2014/roses-in-december/

Author website: http://www.funkywinkerbean.com

Review

guest review by Kevin Wolf
Two books , Safe Return Home: An Inspirational Book for Caregivers of Alzheimer’s (Andrews McMeel publisher 1998) and Roses in December: a story of love and Alzheimer’s (The Kent State University Press 2015) by Tom Batiuk and Chuck Ayers are the early and complete collections, respectively, of Crankshaft comic strips about elderly characters suffering from Alzheimer’s disease from diagnosis to death. The book Lisa’s Story: the other shoe (The Kent State University Press 2007) by Tom Batiuk is a collection of Funky Winkerbean comic strips about Lisa’s diagnosis of breast cancer, her treatment, remission, and recurrence.
These stories sensitively and humorously show the effect of receiving the devastating diagnosis, how friends and family react, caregivers handling the treatments, and the role hospice plays in end-of-life care. Each book is a collection of daily and Sunday strips, developed over many years, which often have poignant punch lines. As an example one strip in Roses in December midway through the collection demonstrates this. Lucy, who is becoming more and more forgetful, tells her neighbor’s young daughter who she mistakes for her elderly sister, Lillian, in the first panel, “Actually my memories are still all there ….;” in the second panel while pointing to her head, “Locked inside these tiny little gray cells!;” and in the last panel says, “I just can’t find some of the keys anymore!”
Though all the tales are fictional, they do an excellent job of portraying how events are likely to occur. At the back of each book there are resource guides, including those related to Alzheimer’s, dementia, and breast cancer; that for hospice and palliative care; and for patients and caregivers. The listing in Lisa’s Story is more comprehensive. The Kent State University Press published books are part of their Literature and Medicine series with founding editors Carol Dunley and Martin Kohn. Roses in December includes a foreword by Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Public Health. The overarching theme of all the books is that in the end we all seek comfort, good friends, humor, and dignity.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

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

  • Subscribe to our iTunes Podcast
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

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.

Shop / Support Us!

Visit Our Sister Site for Spanish Readers

Visit Our Sister Site for Japanese Readers

Visit the Pathographics Project

Graphic Medicine Database

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.

© 2007 - 2021 Graphic Medicine International Collective

WordPress Developer