Vancouver writer puts mother’s Alzheimer’s battle in graphic memoir ‘Tangles’
By Victoria Ahearn, Canadian Press
… “Tangles” (Freehand Books) is Leavitt’s first book and the first graphic memoir to make the short list for the $25,000 Writers’ Trust Non-Fiction Prize.
It’s up against “The Ptarmigan’s Dilemma: An Exploration into How Life Organizes and Supports Itself” by John and Mary Theberge; “What Disturbs Our Blood: A Son’s Quest to Redeem the Past” by James Fitzgerald; “Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven” from Ross King; and “The Love Queen of Malabar: Memoir of a Friendship with Kamala Das” by Merrily Weisbord.
Leavitt says she’s thrilled the jury considered a graphic memoir — a genre that is “still kind of on the margins and people aren’t totally sure” about.
“I know with my book sometimes a bookstore will be like, ‘We don’t have a graphic narrative section,’ and it’s like, ‘It’s OK, you can put it in “memoir,”‘” said Leavitt, whose non-fiction has appeared in a number of anthologies, including “Nobody’s Mother” and “Beyond Forgetting: Poetry and Prose about Alzheimer’s Disease.”
“I think people are just kind of getting used to how to deal with them.”
Jury member Michael Mitchell says he and his fellow two jurors were all moved to tears by “Tangles.”
“I’ve read that book three times and it’s just flawless,” he said. “And it’s a wonderful advertisement for that form.”
This article was reprinted in a number of papers. Read it here in the St Albert Gazette.
What an amazing win for Tangles, being shortlisted for this award. “Flawless.” Now there’s an endorsement.
BTW, the link to the full article is, uh, flawed.
oops. it is fixed now. thanks for the heads up!