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Taking Turns: Stories from HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371

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Guest review by Dr. Devlyn McCreight MK Czerwiec’s graphic memoir Taking Turns is one of the latest entries in the Graphic Medicine series published by Penn State University Press.  The book chronicles Czerwiec’s seven years serving as a nurse on the dedicated HIV/AIDS Care Unit at Illinois Masonic Hospital.  While it could be reasonably assumed that Czerwiec serves as the de facto “main character” of the story due to the autobiographical threads woven into the narrative, this does not actually seem to be the case.  The care that Czerwiec takes in gathering and sharing the stories of the doctors, nurses,… Read More

Podcast Episode 11: Nye Wright

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On this week’s episode, I talk with Nye Wright, creator of Things To Do In A Retirement Home Trailer Park When You Are 29 and Unemployed which was recently released in North America by Penn State University Press. Nye discusses what he’s been reading, how he created Trailer Park, his next book project, and his Twitter meet-up which happens this week. You can listen to an image-enhanced version of the podcast here: Or you can find the episode in iTunes here.   Nye recommends four books in our conversation. First is the graphic novel  “TheDivine.” Second is “The Incal.” Third… Read More

Things to Do in a Retirement Home Trailer Park When You Are 29 and Unemployed

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guest review by Chicago medical student Brian Kim Things to Do in a Retirement Home Trailer Park … When You’re 29 and Unemployed is a beautiful approach to discussing the various facets of death in one’s life.   Aneurin Wright depicts his journey in caring for his father, who is dying from emphysema. He illustrates the profound memories that form the foundation for his relationship with his father, as well as fundamental memories that have formulated his father’s relationships.   Additionally, he depicts his thoughts and daydreams that highlight his anguish and frustration with his situation and also the reconciliation of his relationship… Read More

Tangles: A Story of Alzheimer’s, My Mother, and Me

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guest review by Katie Delaney, MD/MA program in Bioethics and Medical Humanities, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine   “Sarah: What’s it like, Dad? Dad: I don’t know. I guess sometimes it turns out that everything you thought about how the future would be just isn’t true.” – Tangles, page 46   Tangles is a poignant and clever name for Sarah Leavitt’s graphic memoir about her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease. First, there is the way Leavitt’s partner describes the mind of Sarah’s ailing mother: “Like the garden this summer… tangled, but with spots of brightness.” (114). Then, there is the fact that… Read More

Seeds

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Ross Mackintosh’s book Seeds (2011) describes the final couple months of his father’s life. His fun loving, pub going, sport loving but quietly philosophical ‘Dad’ died of disseminated prostate cancer in 2010 and Mackintosh, who had previously experimented with comic strips, felt inspired to embark on a full length narrative work. He states in the introduction how lucky he feels to live in the UK during a period of time in which healthcare is provided by the National Health Service (NHS). In contrast to nearly all the US graphic novels about cancer, in which significant themes seem to be the… Read More