I picked this up on a whim at the local library. I liked the cover and I tend to like thick graphic novel memoirs so I thought it would be a good choice.
It wasn’t until I got home than I realized it was a memoir about a woman dealing with her two older parents getting older, becoming dependent and eventually dying. All of a sudden I was not sure if I could relate or if I even wanted to read it. By that time I already had it home, and it was heavy, so I thought what the heck I might as well read it. I am very glad that I did. This is a touching and occasionally laugh out loud funny memoir. It is a no holds back kind of book, with bed sores and bed pans and nothing left out. But it is an honest look at how difficult it is to face our parents getting older and dying and not only that but also looking at our relationships with our parents and how they have shaped our lives. It involves a lot of exploring our intense and complicated relationships we have with those who gave us life.
The story line and the honestly is excellent and the drawings are wonderful too. It is a mixed media sort of book with long writing, real photos and drawings all mixed in.
I would recommend this read to anyone who will have to deal with death and who are we kidding, that is EVERYONE. I was bawling into my toast and egg this morning, but I wanted to finish before I left for work. I knew that both of Chast’s parents were going to die, but I wanted to see how she dealt with it, after all.
“No one can say that death found in me a willing comrade, or that I went easily.”
― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Princess
Books Always In My Bag 