Synopses & Reviews
Nicola Streetens little boy, Billy, was two years old when he died following heart surgery for problems diagnosed only ten days earlier. Gut-wrenchingly sad at times, her graphic memoir is an unforgettable portrayal of trauma and our reaction to it and, especially, the humour or absurdity so often involved in our responses. As Streetens story unfolds and we follow her and her partners heroic efforts to cope with well-meaning friends and day-to-day realities, we begin to understand what she means by her aim to create a dead baby story that is funny.
Synopsis
A moving, surprisingly funny, and inspiring graphic memoir by a woman who lost her two-year-old son after heart surgery, Billy, Me & You is a bracing and memorable account of recovery after bereavement. Nicola Streeten's little boy, Billy, was two years old when he died following heart surgery for problems diagnosed only a few days earlier. Ten years later, Streeten revisited her diaries and notebooks made at the time: this wonderfully vibrant narrative recounts how she and her partner recovered. Gut-wrenchingly sad at times, her graphic memoir is an unforgettable portrayal of trauma and our reaction to it - and, especially, the humour or absurdity so often involved in our responses. As Streeten's story unfolds and we follow her and her partner's heroic efforts to cope with well-meaning friends and day-to-day realities, we begin to understand what she means by her aim to create a 'dead baby story that is funny'. Streeten is the first British woman to have published a graphic memoir.
About the Author
Nicola Streeten is the co-creator (with artist Sarah Lightman) of Laydeez do Comics, a graphic novel forum with a focus on the new wave of comic work based on the drama of everyday life. An illustrator since 1996, she is currently working on a research doctorate at Sussex University on British womens comics from 1970 to the present. Billy, Me and You first appeared in serialised form in Liquorice Magazine. Her new graphic novel, Hymn, will be published by Myriad in October 2014.