Notes from a Sickbed (2022)

by Tessa Brunton

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37	4	668,454	(3.11)	None
In 2009, Tessa Brunton experienced the first symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome). She spent much of the next eight years unwell, in a medical holding pattern, housebound and often alone. In 2017, she found a strategy that helped reduce her symptoms, and soon began creating the first installments of a graphic memoir. Notes from a Sickbed collects previously released and brand-new, unseen comics that recall her experiences with honesty, a pointed wit, and a lively visual imagination.… (more)

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The author suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome and shares quite a bit about the effects it has had on her in these diary comics, but she also goes off on fanciful tangents about haunting her neighbors, designing homes, and outlining a graphic novel project set in a Disneyland-like amusement park that bored more than informed. The anecdotes skip around a lot, leaving huge gaps about progression of her condition and about the supportive people around her.

It's not a bad book but in the end, I felt more tantalized than satisfied.

Others liked it more than I did; it is listed on the Publishers Weekly 2022 Graphic Novel Critics Poll. (

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villemezbrown | Mar 12, 2023 |

3.5 (

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DestDest | Feb 20, 2023 |

graphic memoir, humorous comics about the author/artist's years spent with undiagnosed chronic fatigue syndrome (untreatable but at least now she has a label for it, and she can sort of minimize the effects if she limits her activity)

loved the art content and style, and how she turned a truly frustrating and miserable experience into something positive. Would read more from this artist.

re: others' experiences with chronic fatigue/ME, see also:
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating more about the snail than about needing bedrest, but this author is similarly confined to her bed for several years.
George: A Magpie Memoir again, more about the magpie than in dealing with illness, but this author is occasionally also needing to limit her activity due to ME as well as chronic pain from a back injury. (

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reader1009 | Dec 28, 2022 |

Baroque detailed panels evoke the imagination and boredom of chronic illness. (

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JesseTheK | Dec 11, 2022 |

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Awards

Commonwealth Club of California Book Awards (Finalist – Young Adult – 2023)

Notable Lists

Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Books of the Year (2022)

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Canonical title

Notes from a Sickbed

Original title

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2022

People/Characters

Tessa Brunton

Mrs. Brunton (mother of Tessa Brunton)

Finn Brunton (brother of Tessa Brunton)

Important places

California, USA

Disneyland, Anaheim, California, USA

Fairfax, California, USA

Richmond, California, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

Dedication

For Viv

First words

These comics are about my life with chronic illness. [Introduction]

When it comes to sickrooms, I try to be like those scientists looking for habitable planets in outer space -- planets that are in teh Goldilocks Zone, which means they're the right distance from a star to meet some of the basic requirements for sustaining life.

Quotations

I eventually learned that I'd been muddling through myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), sometimes called chronic fatigue syndrome. ME is a complex, debilitating, long-term disease with a grim record of stigma and neglect. It has no cure and remains poorly understood despite how common it is and how devastating it can be.

Quitting my job hadn't been broken my heart. It was stressful, underpaid non-profit work, and I'd wanted to leave eventually. But I'd always thought I'd quit because I was doing something else, like going back to school or moving to a new city. Not quitting because this strange illness I apparently now had was getting worse and worse. (p. 54)

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▾Book descriptions

In 2009, Tessa Brunton experienced the first symptoms of myalgic encephalomyelitis (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome). She spent much of the next eight years unwell, in a medical holding pattern, housebound and often alone. In 2017, she found a strategy that helped reduce her symptoms, and soon began creating the first installments of a graphic memoir. Notes from a Sickbed collects previously released and brand-new, unseen comics that recall her experiences with honesty, a pointed wit, and a lively visual imagination.

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