Illustrating mental illness and engaging empathy through graphic memoir

Abstract

Graphic memoirs present a unique medium for sharing one’s experiences, creating connections, and fostering empathy as the combination of text and image often provides readers with a more engaged glimpse into another person’s life than text alone can achieve. One element of personal experience where this can be especially impactful is in the representation of narratives of mental illness, as experiences of conditions like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or body dysmorphia are difficult to describe. Narratives about such topics enable readers to empathize with those who have experienced these conditions. This chapter explores representations of mental illness in Darryl Cunningham’s Psychiatric Tales: Eleven Graphic Stories About Mental Illness (2011), Ellen Forney’s Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me (2012), and Katie Green’s Lighter Than My Shadow (2017).