by Annemarie Jutel There is a strong graphic tradition of writing about other people’s illnesses. Tangles (Sarah Leavitt), Mom’s Cancer (Brian Fies), Last Things (Marisa Moss) and even the magnificent fictional Mad with Joy (Joris Vermassen), all address the important question of how we experience and cope with the illness experienced by our loved ones. Like the first-person illness narrative, they take a creative exploration of experiences of illness, even while one step removed: not the patient themselves, rather the people who surround them. There’s a parallel tradition of talking about one’s mom. Roz Chast, Alison Bechdel and Teresa Wong… Read More
my mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill
awaiting review
The Land Before Time Management – ADHDinos
awaiting review
The Sweetness Between Us
by Soph Myers-Kelley The Sweetness Between Us is a book I wish I’d had when my disabilities, as well as my queer and trans identity journeys, started gearing up in my early 20’s. In the first dialogue between characters, we see how queerness is embedded in the world of this book—not as a plot point and not something to be questioned, either. Perley (a junior high student) greets his tutor, whose name is Mx. Bythesea. The use of Mx. honorifics is just one example of the integration of multiple identities in The Sweetness Between Us. Similarly, diversity in gender, size,… Read More
here I am, I am me – An Illustrated Guide to Mental Health
by Anna Simonson Trigger warning: The book reviewed here contains information about suicide, addiction, and other forms of self-harm. The suicide/crisis lifeline phone number is 988 in the United States and Canada, and 999 in the United Kingdom. For other countries see (but not confirmed): https://blog.opencounseling.com/suicide-hotlines/ Over the last two decades, there has been an alarming increase in rates of anxiety and depression for adolescents around the world. In the U.S. alone, major depressive episodes for teens (ages 12-17) have increased 145% for girls since 2010, and 161% for boys [p. 24, Haidt]. Emergency room visits for U.S. adolescents aged… Read More
Kind of Coping: An Illustrated Look at Life with Anxiety
by Soph Myers-Kelley Wilson is known for her Introvert Doodles online, and her five book publications having either to do with anxiety, introversion, or both! This book, Kind of Coping, is the third of her five works, published in 2019. Wilson uses analogies, metaphors, imagery, humor, and relatable experiences to make those who are introverted and/or anxious right at home. For those who don’t experience introversion or anxiety, the examples Wilson shares paints them a comprehensive & detailed picture of what anxiety feels like. Wilson draws simply and succinctly. Her style clearly originates from her online internet comic work,… Read More