Health Story Hub
8 page graphic narrative structured around a conversation between a Japanese American college student and her grandmother. Each page is a collage of images, text and drawings, allowing for both discussion of the issues (aging, intergenerational relationships, queer identities) and the techniques and
This graphic memoir captures the author’s journey with her mother, Alice, who is diagnosed with dementia. Through a creative blend of writing, visual art, and comics, Walrath weaves elements from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland throughout the text to explore the transformative power of storytelling in navigating the challenges of mental illness, loss, and social stigma. The memoir offers a unique perspective on aging and caregiving, emphasizing the healing potential of graphic narratives by speaking to how visual mediums can communicate more than, or differently from, written text. Collaged illustrations, made in part from Carroll’s text itself, are accompanied by a textual vignette. The combination of text and art results in a cohesive narrative that would lack the same depth and detail if considered in isolation. Graphic medicine, Walrath writes, “lets us better understand those who are hurting, feel their stories, and redraw and renegotiate those social boundaries.” Aliceheimer’s provides a way to introduce and educate people about Alzheimer’s as a medical condition, while highlighting the humanity involved in dealing with it as a family.
This novel could be used in classes regarding narrative medicine, graphic medicine, and/or caregiving experiences. It invites discussions on the role of storytelling in reshaping medical narratives, the impact of stigma on health, and the potential for creative expression in coping with complex health challenges. With Walrath’s background in Medical Anthropology, this book could also be used to ask how researchers personally connect to their work.
Taking Turns is a graphic novel that explores HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371 at the Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago during the peak of the AIDS epidemic. Through archival records, oral histories, and MK Czerwiec’s first-hand experiences as a nurse on the ward, the novel sheds light on the challenges and resilience of the community during this critical period. With simple illustrations and a practical four-panel format, “Taking Turns” delivers a direct and accessible narrative, offering readers an opportunity to not only absorb the history easily, but prompting empathetic reflection for each member of the community – patients, families, and medical staff. This novel could provoke discussions about caregiver narratives, and the efficacy of graphic novels in communicating narrative.
This book can be purchased at book stores or online. Alternatively, there is a free reading of the book on youtube at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5uKTvYN6bw
“Even Superheroes Get Diabetes” by Sue Houle is a unique comic book that tackles the topic of diabetes in a creative and relatable way, especially for young readers. The narrative is presented in a comic book format, adding an engaging and visually appealing element to the story.
The protagonist of the book is a young boy who discovers that even superheroes can have diabetes. The story unfolds as the boy learns to navigate life with this condition, and the narrative is paired with many superhero-themed elements, making it both entertaining and informative.
The book not only addresses the practical aspects of managing diabetes, such as monitoring blood sugar levels and taking insulin, but also goes into the emotional and social aspects of living with a chronic condition. It explores the life of the young superhero, such as explaining his condition to friends, dealing with potential misconceptions, and finding the courage to embrace his unique identity. Throughout the story, the author incorporates valuable information about diabetes management, making it an educational resource for both children and their parents. The use of superheroes as characters helps destigmatize diabetes, showing that anyone, regardless of their abilities or strengths, can be affected by the condition.
Overall, “Even Superheroes Get Diabetes” is both a heartwarming and empowering book. The creative storytelling approach, coupled with vibrant illustrations, makes it an excellent tool for raising awareness and fostering understanding about diabetes among children and the broader community.
This comic could be used in classroom settings for pre-med and public health students to learn about the impacts of creative narratives, especially when interacting with children. This provides a unique type of narrative that can be analyzed visually alongside a discussion of the content. It can raise questions about effective forms of communication with children and their parents and emphasizes the role of art in narrative medicine.
In this article, a writer and English professor reviews various graphic narrative depictions of aging including Joyce Farmer’s Special Exits, Roz Chast’s Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant?, and most prominently Nigel Baines’ Afloat: A Memoir about Mum, Dementia, and Trying Not to Drown. Venema summarizes each of these books’ plotlines and connections to their authors own lives, specifically as retellings of their parents’ experiences. She also explores the benefits of using comics and graphic narratives to tell end-of-life stories in complex, unconventional, temporally warped, and often nonlinear formats. Each of these books could be used as resources in class syllabi on aging, healthcare systems, and care from family and friend support systems, but this comprehensive review could be a useful introductory material for a graphic medicine course.
This collection of short stories contains a variety of fictional narratives, some more directly related to healthcare than others, but all worth a read. In her foreword, Roxanne Gay characterizes the anthology as one in which “writers imagine what a culture of health might look like. They imagine the dire consequences for humanity if we don’t start building a true, widely accessible culture of health.”
One particular story that directly addresses health themes is a graphic narrative entitled “Reclamation” which tells the story of a Native American teenage boy struggling with absent parents, mental health issues, and self harm. One night he decides to run away from home and he encounters a horse, who he follows back to an old Native American man who is sitting in a field. The man asks him what is wrong and he shares his feelings of being lost and alone. The man shares wisdom of how he connected with his identity and heritage by spending time with horses, and starts teaching the boy how to ride a horse. The connection to the horses reveals a significant tie with the land that was taken from Native Americans, as well as a deep sense of community and freedom. We then see a time jump into the future, when the boy has become an elder advisor sharing wisdom just like the man who changed his whole life path, and quite possibly saved his life. It is an inspiring story touching on various important topics such as adolescent mental health, cultural belonging, the connections between cultural trauma and individual health, and how we can overcome obstacles in the most unexpected ways. This story would fit well into a cultural anthropology class, a mental health class, a class on Native American healthcare, or a graphic health narrative class. Because of its short length, it would work best as an in class reading to then discuss afterward. It could also work in conjunction with a more informational reading on Native American ideology or spirituality, or perhaps another story from a different cultural group on how to cope with mental health issues.
An online collection of graphic medicine texts and teaching resources for introducing graphic medicine to different audiences: high school grades 7-10, undergraduates. Features a well-designed module “Comics for health and medicine,” organized as an introduction to graphic medicine for undergraduates. The module offers outlines for 7 class sessions, links to suggested readings (graphic texts as well as reference material such as PubMed), discussion questions, activities and assignments, adapted from a Penn State College of Medicine course offered to fourth year medical students. Also offers a lesson plan for grades 7-10.
Emily Mendenhall wrote a book, “Unmasked: Covid, community, and the case of Okoboji” based on 87 interviews with people in her hometown of Lake Okoboji, Iowa in 2020. This graphic narrative, illustrated by another native of Lake Okoboji, condenses that scientific/cultural report into full-color panels of comic strip interspersed with description and analysis. Much more compelling for most undergrads than a chapter of the book would be, it focuses on “cultural squabbles and social complexities of the first pandemic year in …a tourist town in northwest Iowa.” Could also illustrate the work of a medical anthropologist within her own community rather than in an exotic location.
Organized by each year the class has been taught, this is collection of graphic narratives illustrates issues medical students face with details of med school life: imposter syndrome, harsh criticism, feeling insecure vs thinking they can save a patient’s life if they go with their instincts, etc. Amazing range of writing and drawing styles, very candid, some quite powerful. Some use medical terminology beyond interest or understanding of lay reader.
This graphic medicine opinion piece by a professor of medicine and palliative care complicates the belief that a death at home is less expensive or more satisfying than death in a hospital. The author recounts conversations he has had with home caregivers about the burdens of complicated care regimes; the physical, psychological, and economic costs, and the systemic incentives to shift care to home caregivers who may be ill-equipped.
This short piece is useful for discussions about end of life care, both the personal burden for caregivers as well as the systemic and economic incentives. It includes brief quotations from caregivers the author has worked with as well as statistics about end of life care in the US.