Brittle Joints
By Maria Sweeney
PUBLICATION DATE: July 2024
6.625” X 10.375”
160 PAGES
TRADE PAPERBACK
ISBN: : 9781951491260
EBOOK ISBN:
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List Price
US $20.99
What People Are Saying
“Painting in strokes of brilliant color against more muted earth tones across the decades of her life, Sweeney makes visible the invisible, those daily nothings that those not experiencing chronic illness take for granted. . . . By highlighting both the truth of the struggles and the joys, Sweeney presents a fuller picture of the disability experience.” – Booklist, starred review
“A candid portrait of life with a disability, drawn in delicate brushstrokes and natural colors. . . . Sweeney shines a critical light on the ableism she was forced to contend with, including a lack of affordable transportation, an expensive and out-of-touch healthcare system, and even the high hospital counters she couldn’t see over when sitting in her wheelchair.” – Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Powerful. . . . an intimate graphic memoir about living through everyday pain and inconveniences with verve.” – Foreword Reviews, starred review
“A flowing journey full of rage, heartbreak, subtlety, and transcendence that will grow your heart towards anyone suffering a health crisis.”—Craig Thompson, author of the award-winning memoir, Blankets
“A gorgeous account of the temporality of illness and the deprivation of selfhood, balanced by a rich savoring of the organic and the beautiful in life from which many of us have much to learn.”—MK Czerwiec, author of Taking Turns
“Sweeney details through exquisite storytelling a profound and personal look at life in a world not built for her, interwoven with nourishing experiences of peace and kindness.” —Morgan Boecher, author of What’s Normal Anyway?
“This generous offering with beautifully rendered imagery is informative for those who have not experienced disability and highly relatable to those who inhabit a body that society and the medical system don’t know how to treat.” —Natalie Norris, author of Dear Mini
"This tale of pain and doctors is teeming with natural beauty, as life resists infirmity, and talent overflows a fragile vessel." -Sabrina Jones, creator of Our Lady of Birth Control
Synopsis
An evocative and heartfelt graphic memoir about the challenges of living with a progressive disability.
When Maria Sweeney was young, she kept count of her broken bones. As she grew older, she stopped. Living with Bruck syndrome, a rare progressive condition that gives her very brittle bones and joint abnormalities, meant that those numbers climbed and climbed. Today she struggles every day, living in an often-inaccessible world. As an ambulatory wheelchair user, ordinary actions like entering a building, sitting at a café, or holding a cup of tea can be drastically different for her than for others.
With lush illustrations, Maria tells the story of her lifelong struggle to obtain care in an increasingly complicated and disinterested US healthcare system. But for every step that presents a struggle, there’s also beauty, friendship, art, and growth. She documents the relief she’s found in alternative therapies, particularly medical marijuana; in loving community and chosen family; and in nature and her creative practice. A powerfully understated critique of our modern world, Brittle Joints offers a generous, expansive look at how to live and love amidst the challenges of survival.
About the Author
Maria Sweeney is a queer artist who was born in Moldova and grew up in New Jersey. She got her BFA from Moore College of Art and Design. Maria currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and when she’s not reading or sketching comics, she’s snuggling with her tiny dog, Bambi. This is her debut graphic novel.
