October is Mental Health Awareness Month, making it a perfect moment to reflect on the ways that reading and connecting with other’s stories can help us process our own struggles. Graphic novels, with their unique mixing of visual storytelling and written narrative have proven a particularly rich medium for stories that tackle deeply personal and often very difficult subjects.
Many of our talented Pow Pow authors have directly addressed mental health in their graphic novels, examining trauma, shame, depression, grief, and fear in powerful narratives that don’t always have all the answers, but can help us understand, empathize, and even heal a little bit.
Below we’ve collected a few recommend reads here to encourage engagement with mental health issues. These graphic narratives are particularly moving and sensitive reads and we think they’d make great additions to any bookshelf.
The Mongoose by Joana Mosi
“[The Mongoose] thoughtfully and compassionately follows [the] halting journey through the stages of grief and mourning, coming to terms with difficult emotions, and learning how to unpack the symbolism that only comes with overwhelming preoccupation, brain fog, and loss.”
—Booklist
Going Under by Zviane
“[Going Under] is as potent a document of depression that I’ve ever read… It’s bleak and harrowing, and Zviane’s crisp, precise linework boldly captures this sense of despair.”
—High-Low
Naked: The Confessions of a Normal Woman by Éloïse Marseille
“Naked is a touching, funny, and bold graphic memoir that will challenge our deepest shame and might even offer a path towards self-acceptance.”
—No Flying No Tights
Tsunami by Ned Wenlock
“Tsunami is… a disarming feat of cartooning that taps into the highs and lows of growing up and the quiet internal battles that can sweep away the vulnerable.”
—The Comics Beat
The Jellyfish by Boum
“Deeply human and ultimately optimistic, The Jellyfish is an important entry in the world of graphic medicine, and a remarkable graphic novel by any standard.”
—Quill & Quire
