11/07/2022
Approaching a serious subject—the impending death of their mother (called Mumin) from colon cancer—with subtle levity, Betke-Brunswick pays tribute to their quirky and loving family. The cartoonist intersperses a present-day narrative with vignettes from childhood, during which their mother encourages creativity and supports her child’s evolving gender identity. Their father, a doctor, insists on facing his wife’s death unflinchingly, dispassionately reciting the prognosis and even drafting her obituary ahead of time. But he can’t comprehend the nuance of Betke-Brunswick’s gender. (“Maybe you should read the Wikipedia page on genderqueer out loud to him,” their mom suggests). The family, incidentally, is depicted as penguins with varying human hairdos (Mumin loses hers). Betke-Brunswick’s friends appear as chickens, kiwis, peacocks, and other birds, all rendered with wobbly charm. The anthropomorphism avoids being cutesy or absurd; rather, it serves as a humble reminder that people are all odd ducks with fragile bones. The slim volume is peppered with delightful details, as when Mumin puts her things in order by returning unworn pants to Banana Republic (“These are J. Crew pants, we suggest you return them there” the shop clerk replies). In depicting their family’s relative particularities, Betke-Brunswick shows how individuals are irreplaceable. Agent: Maggie Cooper, Aevitas Creative Agency. (Nov.)
"Touching, comforting, funny,"
"Will has created a beautiful, heartwarming family portrait, told thoughtfully with perfect spaciousness and pacing. Grief and growing up felt so tactile and close as I read this book, cover to cover, ending in tears, thrilled to be brought there by penguins."
"Unique. . . . will surely resonate in readers’ hearts."
"Impressive. . . . full of love, acceptance and kindness."
"A one-two punch of charm and verve. . . . In the course of telling a story about their mother’s death and their coming out, Betke-Brunswick illustrates that life, not death, has no limits, memories and moments always live on."
"Life does not deliver a series of discrete events, but a tangle of overlapping experiences. The author was working on a mathematics degree, playing on a hockey team, and slowly coming out as trans and nonbinary when their mom was diagnosed with cancer. This book weaves memories from the author's childhood with scenes from the last few months of their mother's life into a tender story of acceptance, care, and love. The heavy moments are lightened by the portrayal of the family as penguins, with friends and strangers as a flock of other birds, but the story is deeply human."
"Heartfelt. . . . An affecting tribute to emotional resilience and everlasting love."
"The graphic novelist uses playfully illustrated animals to unpack topics like their mother's terminal cancer and coming out as genderqueer in their debut memoir."
"Tender and full of love."
"Full of love, humor, and pain. It’s a story any mother would be proud for their child to have written, and a story any child should be proud to write."
New York Journal of Books
"Will Betke-Brunswick's A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings is a remarkable, but also chaotically specific, meditation on family and love. Will's personable and charming penguins navigate through the months after their mother's cancer diagnosis with an indomitable spirit and so so so much tender hilarity, even considering the subject matter. The rhythm of the lists Will uses in the book—final gifts from their mother, contents of a fridge, art in their house—are heartbreaking in how precisely they portray their family. I definitely have Strong Feelings about this book, and those feelings are largely that it is a stunning work that everyone ought to read."
"Moving. . . . The story is told with a delicate touch that’s as much a tribute to a child’s love for their mother as a primer on how families cope with tragedy."
"Touching and humorous. . . . The complexities of family grief that many of us have experienced are treated with tremendous care and beauty."
★ 09/01/2022
In their debut graphic memoir, cartoonist Betke-Brunswick shows the world a glimpse inside of a deeply loving relationship between mother and child, including during one of its hardest moments: losing a parent to cancer. Betke-Brunswick details their mother's endearing quirks and support throughout their life. For example when they were 12 years old, riding the bus to school filled them with worry about others making fun of them, where to sit, or the possibility of a stomachache. Betke-Brunswick's mother slipped them an envelope and said to open it on the bus. Inside the envelope was a complex math problem that they could focus on for the entire ride to school, signed "Love, Mumin." This memoir is filled with moments of tenderness and humor as the family, drawn as adorably awkward penguins, navigates cancer treatment, coming to terms with gender identity, and end of life choices together. VERDICT The art style is a little unconventional, but readers will likely be drawn in by the poignant, yet humorous tale.—Mary E. Butler
2022-10-05
Reimagining their family as penguins and their friends as a menagerie of birds, Colorado-based cartoonist Betke-Brunswick depicts 10 life-changing months in their teens when the life they knew was suddenly changed forever when their mother, Mumin, was diagnosed with cancer. At first, the author’s grieving disbelief led them to seek solace in childhood memories and jigsaw puzzles. Mumin declined slowly but never once felt sorry for her condition. When she saw a friend also suffering from cancer wheel by on a walker, she joked that “maybe [we] should race each other.” Wearing a portable chemotherapy pack she nicknamed Baby Igor, she went to the hairdresser for a “short and tidy” haircut rather than a wig or scarf to hide her hair loss. Betke-Brunswick also recalled her encouragement of their artistic pursuits and the gently accepting way Mumin revealed how she was aware of the author’s sexuality. In her view, it was up to them to educate the loving but short-sighted father, who “thought we were raising a lesbian,” about nonbinary identity. Eventually, he accepted Betke-Brunswick for who they are, at one point calling himself a “pretty sensitive, femme, heterosexual, bear-type guy” in an awkward show of solidarity. Nearing the end of her life, Mumin urged Betke-Brunswick to spend a semester abroad in New Zealand even if it meant never being able to see her again. The simple, sketchlike, pen-and-ink images that recall a child’s drawings add an extra level of poignancy while also bringing humor to an at-times difficult story about coming out during a time of profound personal loss. This sensitive, humorous memoir is as much a celebration of difference as it is of the healing and enduring power of family love.
Heartwarming reading.
