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It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth – An auto-bio-graphic-novel

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by Gary Skirka, MSN, RN, CPC   In the vast landscape of graphic novels, few works stand out as profoundly personal and creative as It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood. This autobiographical snapshot, published by Image Comics, embarks on a courageous exploration of the artist’s tumultuous time during the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, diving into the depths of depression, self-discovery, and the formidable influence of artistic expression. Zoe Thorogood takes a bold departure from traditional storytelling as the narrative unfolds over six months, intricately woven with hyper-imaginative visuals and introspective asides. Thorogood’s unique approach blurs the… Read More

Dear Sophie, Love Sophie

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by Soph Myers-Kelley   Dear Sophie, Love Sophie is in many ways too relatable to my own life (and I loved every minute of it). Sophie Lucido Johnson, author of previous graphic memoir Many Love: A Memoir of Polyamory and Finding Love(s) and Audible book Love Without Sex: Stories on the Spectrum of Modern Relationships, gets vulnerable as she responds to real diary entries from her middle and high school self. Through joyfully simple drawings with thick lines and bold colors, Johnson brings you to the world of her teen self, when she’s figuring out crushes and love, weight and… Read More

Going Under

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by Kevin Wolf   This is a different type of review for me. Since the author uses second person (“you”) throughout for the narrator, I will do the same in writing this review; but please realize this review isn’t about “you” it’s about the protagonist who’s labeled “you” in this graphic medicine work. You’re meant to see or feel the protagonist’s depression, and don’t read this review or Going Under if you fear being triggered by depression or mention of suicide. The mental health and suicide crisis hotline is 988 in the United States and Canada; and 999, 111 (out… Read More

One in a Million

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by Laboni Das   “If I don’t have much of a present, what kind of future will I have?” asks Claire Lordon, the protagonist in One in a Million. As much as it is an exposition of the harrowing ordeals of medical trauma, depression, and anxiety, One in a Million is a poignant testament recounting Lordon’s personal odyssey with Cushing’s disease caused by pituitary tumor. With a prevalence of 2-5 cases per million children per year, Cushing’s disease is as rare as it is devastating. One in a Million is a recollection of significant moments in Lordon’s life and how… Read More

My Picture Diary

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by Kevin Wolf In the Afterword (1982) to My Picture Diary—covering most of 1981—Fujiwara Maki, the author, wrote, “The first half of this book is sunny, while the second half is dark—which seems a little wrong to me, though I know it reflects reality. [184]” Tsuge Yoshiharu, her husband and manga artist, suffers from “anxiety neurosis … it’s when worrying too much becomes pathological. … not only was I in no position to help my husband, I joined him on his downward descent into depression. [185]” She thought their son, Shōsuke might like My Picture Diary later. Takano Shinzō, a… Read More

Offshore Lightning

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by Christine Castigliano, HeartsQuest.com   This collection by manga-ka (manga artist) Nazuna Saito offers a poetic, humorous glimpse into everyday life – and death – in Japan. Most of the stories were originally published in 1991-92 as the artist entered her late 40s. After a 20-year hiatus to care for ailing family members, she published several longer pieces, until a stroke in 2018 slowed her manga production. As an elder, the artist offers her unique perspectives on memory, aging, and the transience of life. As a Japanese artist, Saito draws on a cultural lineage that relies on symbolic nature images… Read More

The Naked Tree

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by Matt Peters   The trauma of violence can linger decades later, waiting for the slightest reminder to bring it back to the surface. A resemblance of something from the past can steal the survivor from the present, forcing them to relive a separation, a loss, or an atrocity. Clinical terms like post-traumatic stress disorder can’t fully describe how the experience permeates a survivor’s life, turning the past into something inescapable. It can haunt not only survivors but also their posterity, as behavioral cues and epigenetic markers—chemical changes to DNA—are passed on to the next generation, causing the initial shock… Read More