Sarah Leavitt uses graphic means to tell her mother’s story
By Candace Fertile, Vancouver Sun October 9, 2010
Graphic novels have been around for some time, but Vancouver writer/artist Sarah Leavitt has taken the form and written a memoir — a deeply moving account of her mother’s struggles with Alzheimer’s disease and how the disease affected the family…
…Tangles is both a celebration of a life and an elegy. Leavitt doesn’t shy away from her fury and grief at her mother’s illness, nor does she ignore the messy part of Midge’s decline — her inability to care for herself physically. The daughter becomes the parent at times, cleaning up and caring for the mother.
Through the trauma, Sarah investigates her Jewish roots, finds an amazing partner and does what she can to help her family.
By creating this book, she has re-created her mother, a woman anyone would be privileged to have known. At least we get to know her through her daughter’s wrenchingly honest memoir.
Read the full review on the Vancouver Sun website The link to the Sun article is broken, but you can read it as reprinted in the Edmonton Journal.