The Long Way Back

“An absolutely beautiful book!” — Megan Wagner Lloyd is the Eisner-nominated writer of Allergic

"Highly relatable for anyone growing up anxious." —Lily Williams, Eisner-nominated co-creator of Go With the Flow

From New York Times bestselling illustrator Kim Smith comes an inspiring debut middle grade graphic novel about learning to live with anxiety, and the life-changing experiences that come from doing hard things.

“Breathe! You’ve got this.”
Eddie returns to school after a long absence, determined to get back to normal. After months of panic attacks, she’s been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. But everything’s under control now, she fixed it. All that’s left is to finish the year and head out to the school’s annual backpacking trip to the Wonderland Coast. If Eddie can make it through this trip, she can do anything!

However, her best friends have bad news: Eddie is in a different group from them! How can she face such a huge adventure without them? The scary woods, the long hikes, the water crawling with bacteria, the bears??? She didn’t fix anything. The trip is too much. But Eddie will have to learn how to accept her anxiety and herself before everything falls apart on the trail.

From New York Times–bestselling illustrator Kim Smith comes a debut graphic novel about learning to love all the parts of yourself, the anxious ones as well as the brave, and the worthwhile experiences that come from doing hard things.