I’m so excited to finally share this little comic with you! When my dad died in 2015 it was di

I’m so excited to finally share this little comic with you! When my dad died in 2015 it was difficult for me to make much art about it, but words poured out of me. I wrote journal entries and Facebook posts. I recorded stories and snippets of conversation. I sketched out ideas for future artwork, too. A couple of months into the grieving process it occurred to me that the perfect way to utilize all of this writing would be to create a graphic novel about his death. A few months later my mother’s cancer returned, and chemotherapy failed, and I slowly came to terms with the horrible reality that I would soon be losing my mother too. I produced more and more writing and sketches and took notes throughout the last year of her life, the numerous hospital visits and scares, my moving back home to take care of her and her entering home hospice. As awful as a lot of this time was, I don’t want to lose any of it. I don’t want to lose any part of my parents, good or bad. I also really want to share some of this experience with others so that those who haven’t had similar experiences can have more empathy towards those who have, and so that those who have can feel less alone.

For obvious reasons this has been a difficult project to work on. The writing was doable, but the artistic aspect can be painful. It’s hard making it all come to life again. But now, almost a year after my mother’s death, it is also really rewarding. This is one of many short stories that I intend to join together into one graphic novel detailing my life ages 25-28, including tales about me, my parents, their deaths, and what came after. I just applied to a comics residency abroad that will be a perfect opportunity for me to work on this project, so keep your fingers crossed! I’m also planning to apply to others though, so send me recommendations if you have them! Also let me know if you know of any publishers who would be interested in this project. I intend to keep working on it on my own regardless, but deadlines are always helpful!

I’m looking forward to sharing more of these stories with you <3.