Something, Not Nothing
A Story of Grief and Love
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A poignant graphic memoir about the power of art to transform and heal after the death of a loved one
In April 2020, cartoonist Sarah Leavitt's partner of twenty-two years, Donimo, died with medical assistance after years of severe chronic pain and a rapid decline at the end of her life. About a month after Donimo's death, Sarah began making comics again as a way to deal with her profound sense of grief and loss. The comics started as small sketches but quickly transformed into something totally unfamiliar to her. Abstract images, textures, poetic text, layers of watercolor, ink, and colored pencil—for Sarah, the journey through grief was impossible to convey without bold formal experimentation. She spent two years creating these comics.
The result is Something, Not Nothing, an extraordinary book that delicately articulates the vagaries of grief and the sweet remembrances of enduring love. Moving and impressionistic, Something, Not Nothing shows that alongside grief, there is room for peace, joy, and new beginnings.
This publication meets the EPUB Accessibility requirements and it also meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG-AA). It is screen-reader friendly and is accessible to persons with disabilities. A book with many images, which is defined with accessible structural markup. This book contains various accessibility features such as alternative text for images, table of contents, page-list, landmark, reading order and semantic structure.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Sifting through a kaleidoscope of memories and emotions, Leavitt (Tangles) presents a haunting comics diary of her grief following the death of her longtime partner, Donimo, in 2020. After suffering years of constant, severe pain due to many chronic conditions, Donimo chose to end her life with medical assistance at age 54. "After she died," a bereft Leavitt writes, "I continued living, which surprised me." The earliest pages feature inchoate thoughts and unfinished questions ("How did she"; "How did we") and inky lines. Over the following months, Leavitt pours out her heartbreak and anger—with occasional glimmers of hope bubbling up ("I've been grateful for the quiet"). Two years on, she moves to contextualize Donimo's death: "Both of us began our solitary journeys to lands neither of us knew about." Leavitt's drawings depict her emotional upheaval with poetic grace, in imagery ranging from abstract black-and-white to warm colors and recognizable figures during moments of serenity and acceptance. This unflinching chronicle offers readers who have experienced loss a sense of catharsis and solace.
Customer Reviews
Woah
An absolutely astounding work of art. Just everything that grief feels like. But also the other side. Orange and blue. Joyous and abiding to the person and sad in a way that’s beautiful.