First published 2025
Hayley Gullen received a breast cancer diagnosis at age 37. She transforms this experience into a graphic memoir that combines storytelling with cartoons to document her treatment journey. Gullen focuses on maintaining her individuality while navigating the NHS system and enduring what she describes as the dehumanizing aspects of cancer care. Her approach blends humor with brutal honesty as she illustrates the emotional roller coaster of living with cancer. The book captures the daily realities of treatment while emphasizing the struggle to preserve one's sense of self during medical crisis. Gullen creates a resource for cancer patients and their families, offering companionship to those facing similar battles and helping them feel less isolated in their experience.
Genres: graphic-novels, adult, memoir, non-fiction, biography-memoir, illness
Vibes: emotionally-resonant, honest-and-raw, humorous-yet-serious, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: first-person-narrative, graphic-memoir-format, humor-as-coping-mechanism
Setting: NHS
176 pages · Hardcover · Green Tree
Content warnings: medical-trauma, terminal-illness