A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings by Will Betke-Brunswick
A Finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Comics
A Modern Mrs. Darcy's Best Book of Fall
A Shondaland Best Book of November
“Filled with moments of tenderness and humor.” ―Library Journal, Starred Review
An unexpected and poignant debut graphic memoir about a close-knit family approaching loss, and the wonder and joy they create along the way.
A Modern Mrs. Darcy's Best Book of Fall
A Shondaland Best Book of November
“Filled with moments of tenderness and humor.” ―Library Journal, Starred Review
An unexpected and poignant debut graphic memoir about a close-knit family approaching loss, and the wonder and joy they create along the way.
- Sale Date
- ISBN
- 9781953534453
- Page Count
- 168
- Language
- English
- Dimensions
- 6½ x 8½
- Imprint
- Tin House
Meet the Author
Will Betke-Brunswick
A Finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Comics
A Modern Mrs. Darcy's Best Book of Fall
A Shondaland Best Book of November
“Filled with moments of tenderness and humor.” ―Library Journal, Starred Review
An unexpected and poignant debut graphic memoir about a close-knit family approaching loss, and the wonder and joy they create along the way.
During Will Betke-Brunswick’s sophomore year of college, their beloved mother, Elizabeth, is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. They only have ten more months together, which Will documents in evocative two-color illustrations. But as we follow Will and their mom through chemo and hospital visits, their time together is buoyed by laughter, jigsaw puzzles, modern art, and vegan BLTs. In a delightful twist, Will portrays their family as penguins, and their friends are cast as a menagerie of birds. In between therapy and bedside chats, they navigate uniquely human challenges, as Will prepares for math exams, comes out as genderqueer, and negotiates familial tension.
A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings is an act of loving others and loving oneself, offering a story of coming-of-age, illness, death, and life that announces the arrival of a talented storyteller in Will Betke-Brunswick. At its heart, Will’s story is a celebration of a mother-child relationship filled with unconditional devotion, humor, care, and openness.
A Modern Mrs. Darcy's Best Book of Fall
A Shondaland Best Book of November
“Filled with moments of tenderness and humor.” ―Library Journal, Starred Review
An unexpected and poignant debut graphic memoir about a close-knit family approaching loss, and the wonder and joy they create along the way.
During Will Betke-Brunswick’s sophomore year of college, their beloved mother, Elizabeth, is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. They only have ten more months together, which Will documents in evocative two-color illustrations. But as we follow Will and their mom through chemo and hospital visits, their time together is buoyed by laughter, jigsaw puzzles, modern art, and vegan BLTs. In a delightful twist, Will portrays their family as penguins, and their friends are cast as a menagerie of birds. In between therapy and bedside chats, they navigate uniquely human challenges, as Will prepares for math exams, comes out as genderqueer, and negotiates familial tension.
A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings is an act of loving others and loving oneself, offering a story of coming-of-age, illness, death, and life that announces the arrival of a talented storyteller in Will Betke-Brunswick. At its heart, Will’s story is a celebration of a mother-child relationship filled with unconditional devotion, humor, care, and openness.
Praise for A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings
“Touching and humorous. . . . The complexities of family grief that many of us have experienced are treated with tremendous care and beauty.”
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“Heartwarming. . . . This sensitive, humorous memoir is as much a celebration of difference as it is of the healing and enduring power of family love.”
Kirkus Reviews -
“Delightful. . . . In depicting their family’s relative particularities, Betke-Brunswick shows how individuals are irreplaceable.”
Publishers Weekly -
“Filled with moments of tenderness and humor.”
Library Journal, Starred Review
About the Imprint
Where the literary canon of tomorrow is born. Critically acclaimed titles that challenge, illuminate, and linger. Discover award-winning fiction, nonfiction, and poetry from emerging voices you’ll say you found first.
