"Sometimes we drown, drinking in the sea. A sea as red as a heart that's stopped beating."

Waves is the true story of author Ingrid Chabbert's terrible loss of a child. After years of trying to have a child, Ingrid and her wife finally anounce that Ingrid is pregnant. But the pregnancy is problematic, with blood loss and pain and struggle, and finally, a surgery to remove the dead child inside of her. Ingrid is drowning in a sea of pain, heartbreak and loss as she is trying to move forward when her heart seems it had stopped beating. She channels the pain through writing, and discovers a passion she did not know, storytelling.

This graphic novel also explores the birth of Ingrid Chabbert as a children books writer, her recovery and is filled with beautiful illustrations. I particularly liked how the colors turned to gray after the loss of their child, with little spots of color on the journals she writes on, the clothes of people who inspire her to move on, and gradually return to everything as her journey of healing continues.

I wish the author portrayed the struggles of trying to conceive this baby as well, it would've added a lot more depth to the story but I understand her point of view - not wanting this to be yet another story about two women trying to have a baby, as she points out in the ending of the book.

A very touching story I wholeheartedly recommend to people going through a similar experience.

Beautiful, heartbreaking and heartwarming! Would've loved for it to be a little longer. The illustrations were wonderful. Thank you Netgalley for the chance of reading this Arc.

Beautifully haunting.
Waves tells us the story of a couple in recovery. After the miscarriage of the main character, we have both women trying to carry on while recovering from the traumatic event.

Just remembering the story and how they brought it to Graphic Comic makes me stunned. The strength to write it down, Ingrid is an awesome woman who has all of my respect, as her partner.

And the way Caroline mixed with the colors, how it was all colors, and then black and white; how the colors slowly comes back as they slowly come with peace with it.

It was all just beautiful and touching. Something that I would have given to a family member years ago when she went through it.

I highly recommend it, though I really warn you if you are sensitive.

Really, thank you Netgalley for the chance of reading this Graphic Comic in exchange of a honest review, I really have no words for how amazingly touching and beautiful.

a moving story about loss and still finding strength to keep living and going forward. this was about a topic i could empathize with even if it's something i've never faced myself, but i felt the weight regardless

Oh man this book. I have not tried to have children, and one of my greatest fears is that I will be unable when the time comes, so I have a weak spot for books with mother/child stories. This story, briefly, is about a couple who has wanted children for a long time, but when they are finally able to get pregnant, lose the child, nearly at term. This story was somehow devastating and enlightening at the same time. I cried big ugly tears through most of it, and I want to go out and buy my own copy.

Additionally, the author's use of alternating colored, black and white, and monotone panels accentuated the mood wonderfully.

Both beautiful and heart breaking in its honesty and poignancy, this very personal account of the loss of a much wanted child and the long and difficult grieving process that followed may be simply told and illustrated but that does not detract from its impact. The author compares grief to being lost at sea in a boat, and the illustrator does a wonderful job with this concept. The use of colour and black and white by the illustrator is very well done , and there are several panels where no words are needed to convey emotion, somthing which can be difficult to pull off. Despite the difficult subject matter, this truly is a beautiful book, and one that I suspect would give comfort to many people who are grieving a loss.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Content warning: miscarriages, loss of a child, depression and infertility.

This is the authors own story about, her and her partners experiences with trying to have a baby.

It was absolutely beautiful, devastating, heartbreaking but also heartwarming. It’s shows her dealing with her greif and her learning to find peace with it and start healing. I loved the way the colours played a part of the story to show times of depression and greif.
This book was truely beautiful, both the story, the art and the writing.

I received this through netgalley in exchange for an honest review

A beautiful graphic novel about a couple trying to conceive. The eventually get pregnant but the baby is lost and the mother almost doesn’t survive. Now that she’s survived she must learn to live again. Beautifully written and great illustrations. Really enjoyed.

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I thought this simple portrayal at the grief of losing a child was stunning. The artwork is beautiful and speaks for itself, and often the writing lets it do just that: breathing and giving space to watch the waves of grief roll over the main character. The use of color was excellent as well, dipping into black and white, with spots of color now and again and then full on bursts of it for the dreamscape. Will be recommending this to many people to read, and certainly for purchasing at our library.

What a beautiful volume by author Ingrid Chabbert and illustrator Carole Maurel. The pain felt in this biographical work is palpable, as is the love and support that helped Chabbert live through such a difficult event. Grief, love, and loss are universal; even if one has never experienced the loss of a child, one cannot help but be moved by Waves.

This graphic novel hurt.
I love that there are more graphic novels being created that deal with hard issues to cope with. I've read one on depression, one on anorexia, and one that focused on sexual harassment.
This book goes on that shelf in my mind of "eye opening" on a subject I never have thought hard about - miscarriage.
The illustrations are gorgeous, the hurt is noticeable, and the journey of coping that is taken is strong.

I loved it.

This is a bittersweet tale about love and loss. It felt very real and raw so I wasn't surprised to see that it was based on the author's own life experiences. The art is beautiful and fits the story so well.

This was gorgeous art, and a deeply moving story. Trigger for child loss. I loved the way the color was used to tell the story from panel to panel.

*Content warning for miscarriage, loss of child, infertility, depression.*
Waves is a beautiful graphic novel about love, loss, and recovery. The art really showcases the pain felt, and reminds the reader that they are not alone on their journey. I highly recommend this for anyone going through a similar situation.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

A quick, but powerful read about a couple's struggle and depression after a late-term miscarriage. It was a tragic and beautiful read, but the thing I most took away was the gorgeous art and use of color (or lack there of) within this graphic novel. Highly recommended.

Waves was a beautifully told story about hope and loss and what it takes to find hope again. The story floats as much as you would expect from the title. The illustrations were really nice and for me they helped a lot to make the story more powerful and added much to the story.

While it was a quick read for me, it was one that stayed with me for quite some days, so I was very glad Netgalley granted my wish on this one.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The movement of the narrative through time and the grief process is truly stunning here. The use of color throughout builds upon the characterization in a lovely way as well. A quick read with big emotions, don't miss the boat on this one!

Waves is one of the most well put together comic that will make you dive into emotions through the changing color schemes and through the amazingly portrayed characters. It revolves around a woman who loses her child in a miscarriage and finds herself amidst a dark thought process--almost like she's drowning and that's depicted in a few illustrations parallel to the main storyline. It's a story about her finding her own smile again, of finding her inner writer, of finding herself and all this when mixed with her supportive partner is a story of loving despite the loss.

I thought this was a fairly straightforward but heartfelt and moving story, accompanied by beautiful artwork and colour scheme.

Though it's a topic rarely portrayed in fiction, both author and illustrator captured the experience of coping with pregnancy loss in a sensitive way that feels both personal and universal.