Parenthesis focuses on the character of Judith, based on the author's experience. The black-and-white drawings represent her journey as she struggles to piece together her memory and experience with epilepsy with the help of her friends and family.

I would recommend this book to young adults and adults interested in learning more about how people live with epilepsy, who struggle with illness, or who might be struggling readers. There were two elements that I enjoyed. One was the repetition of images to represent when the epilepsy worsened again. The other element I enjoyed were the black and white doodles. They expressed the character's changing sense of self and provided spacing between the pages that had more text and images. One element that confused me was the beginning of the text. At first, I thought the character was experiencing young-onset dementia. However, if the reader sticks with the text, her condition begins to be explained in more detail and the reader learns about the condition as the character relearns and reviews her memories.

This memoir will appeal to anyone with an interest in brain disorders, but it does have a limited scope. Much of the text is in a handwriting font, which while indicating that this is a memoir, makes it difficult to read. I would only recommend for older audiences and those that have an interest in seizures and other mystery brain disorders.

The story was raw and honest. I really liked the drawings. I found the font choice to be hard to read and messy.

I love graphic novel memoirs, they get the author's journey across to the reader in such a visceral and raw kind of way. Parenthesis is about the author's real struggle with a brain tumor. I couldn't put down my computer (digital ARC) and finished in just one sitting. The whole novel really made me feel almost like an intruder inside the author's head. The art style really lended itself well to the subject. The style shifts and gets darker and shows us, in illustration, how the missing parts of the author's memory might have felt. Overall, I loved this. I will be hand selling it for sure.

This was a hard book to read. Literally. I had a hard time with the cursive font that was used for this book. It was also hard to read Onan emotional level. The illness she struggled with scares the pants off of me. It is one of my worst nightmares. Seeing how she persevered was inspiring.

I really enjoyed this autobiographical account of a young woman learning to manage epilepsy. it was sensitively dealt with and addressed the potential issues raised by the condition and treatment. I am sure this would be a really encouragement to folks dealing with similar issues .

I enjoyed the art style of this graphic novel. It was simple but conveyed a lot of emotion in each frame. Well worth a read.

(Set to publish on Jan 9, 2021)
Publication Date: February 9, 2021

My Thoughts:
I have seen it many times. Writing and drawing is a form of healing and grieving. This story is Èlodie Durand's own catharsis story of healing and grief and loss of herself. Through epileptic seizures brought on by an undiagnosed tumor, changes in personality, loss of freedom, memory, cognitive function, bodily function, vision and balance issues, Durand has loss years of her young life but with her drawings and lots of help from her family, she has come out on the other side. She is finally ready to share that she is still here. Still working on getting back what she has lost. Most importantly, she has declared herself not fully healed, but free just the same.

For readers who for whatever reason are in the middle of the dark tunnel, unable to see the end light, this book is for you. I felt for her mother who really understands what sacrifice and parenting adults really means. Her bravery is just as large a part of this story as her daughter's illness.

From the Publisher:
Judith is barely out of her teens when a tumor begins pressing on her brain, ushering in a new world of seizures, memory gaps, and loss of self. Suddenly, the sentence of her normal life has been interrupted by the opening of a parenthesis that may never close.

Based on the real experiences of cartoonist Élodie Durand, Parenthesis is a gripping testament of struggle, fragility, acceptance, and transformation which was deservedly awarded the Revelation Prize of the Angoulême International Comics Festival.

Wow. Just wow. A gripping, raw, emotional, and intimate memoir. This translated GN tells Judith’s story through emotional images and personal writings, addressed to her mom, about the authors and her family’s personal journey through a brain tumor diagnosis, seizures, treatments and her path back to living. Very emotional and touching - you can see the pain and experience her journey through her drawings

Recently I’ve discovered that graphic memoirs are one of my favorite genres to read. There’s something so raw about them that really speaks to me. In this story, Durand recounts her struggles with epilepsy and a brain tumor. Using a mix of dialogue with her mother, personal memories, and sometimes disturbing sketches, she explores how much she lost herself during treatment of her illness.

I enjoyed this book. The sketchy-style illustrations really add to the somberness of the story and help give a glimpse into what living in her position might have been like. I liked how the illustrations shifted in style with the tone of the story, often very dark and disjointed in the worst parts of her life. It really helps drive home how serious it was and how much the author truly lost herself in those horrific moments.

My critiques: the script used through most of the story is a bit hard to read. I assume it’s handwritten by the author, but my preference would be to use a typeface that looks like it’s handwritten. Maybe that would take away from the story though. I’m not sure. I also wish it concluded a little better. The ending feels very blunt to me.

All in all, I enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. It’s a really good entry into the graphic memoir genre.

Interesting plot line. Fantastic artwork. I definitely would recommend this to my friends to read because of this combination.

I received a digital ARC on NetGalley from IDW Publishing, Top Shelf Productions. Graphic novel memoirs may be my favorite genre to read. They can be so emotionally fueled and evocative and this title was exactly that. This memoir follows Judith just out of her teens into her 20’s as she starts getting treated for epilepsy and a related brain tumor. She has memory gaps and is heavily reliant on her mother and father to help her with many things. The line drawings were so mesmerizing in relaying her moods and feelings. Dynamic, educational and engaging.

This was a fascinating look into the life of a young woman experiencing epileptic seizures. Her art conveys so much of the experience: the confusion, the solitude, the loss. A really lovely book. Sad but ultimately triumphant.

A book about the author's struggle with epilepsy. The cursive writing was a bit difficult to read at times. The artwork was different.

Wow! In full disclosure, I had read what this one was about, thought it sounded good, and requested it...I had forgotten what it was about when it arrived, but this heartfelt story about the true experiences of the cartoonist was more than I could have guessed anyway.

Graphic memoirs are probably my favorite stories to read at this point. So I was excited to read #Parenthesis. In this story we follow Julie, who was recently being diagnosed with a brain tumor that was causing her epilepsy. Julie's story mirrors the real-life experiences of author Elondie Durand. Julie tries to piece together missing parts of her story through her own memories and through conversations with her parents. The artwork is done in black and white sketches, but with beautiful shading and use of space to heighten the emotions throughout the story. Many thanks to the publisher and #NetGalley for the ARC.