I Always Think It's Forever
A Love Story Set in Paris as Told by an Unreliable but Earnest Narrator (A Memoir)
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- £11.99
Publisher Description
A sweeping, unique graphic memoir about an artist’s year abroad in Paris and how it gave way to an all-encompassing love affair and crushing heartbreak as he wrestled with trauma, masculinity, and the real possibility of hope.
Renowned graphic artist Timothy Goodman planned to do what every young artist dreams of and spend a year abroad in Paris. While there, he fell in love in a way he never had before. For the first time in his life, he let himself be loved and finally, truly loved someone else. But the deeper the love, the more crushing the heartbreak when the relationship eventually fell apart, forcing him to look inwards. He confronted traumas of his past as well as his own toxic masculinity, and he learned to finally show up for himself.
I Always Think It’s Forever is a one-of-a-kind graphic memoir that chronicles it all—the ups, the downs, love lost, and love found—all in the bold illustration style Goodman is best known for, with poetic prose and handwritten wording to accompany the artwork with a touch of humor added as well. It’s a glimpse inside the heart and mind of a man, first focusing on the time Goodman spent in Paris, including diary entries relating his experiences learning about French food, culture, and language. This touching memoir also explores the painful break-up just six months later in Rome. Goodman artfully describes his attempts at learning to love himself in the end, his scars, cuts, warts, and all in a way no book ever has before.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Artist Goodman (Sharpie Art Workshop: Techniques and Ideas for Transforming Your World) recalls a failed relationship in this tender if uneven illustrated memoir. After a year of neglecting his mental health, Goodman visited Paris, where he fell in love with a Frenchwoman named Aimée. Four months later, Goodman returned home to New York City alone, and the couple eventually broke up, which sent Goodman into a spiral of depression. After therapy and medication, he was diagnosed with attachment disorder, partially the result of his traumatic upbringing (his first stepdad physically abused him). Goodman makes no bones about his vulnerability ("Breakups take a big toll on me") as he plumbs the depths of his despair, but Aimée remains frustratingly opaque: other than her love of Britney Spears and astrology, she is solely defined as the object of Goodman's affection. The whimsical illustrations evoke Keith Haring's graffiti-like pop art, though they feel oddly buoyant in contrast to the melancholy material. Still, this emotionally raw narrative will resonate with anyone who has endured heartbreak.
