Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting

Kindra Neely writes the graphic novel she wish she could have read following her traumatizing experience of being on the Umpqua Community College campus during a mass shooting on October 1, 2015. She spends years numb, depressed, and anxious and attempts suicide before reaching out for the help she needs to advance the healing process.

While her emotional journey is interesting it is also slightly subdued and so inward-gazing that we hardly get to know anyone else in the book even as friends and family wander through the panels. I thought the story was opening up slightly when Radhii, a Malaysian roommate, was introduced after Neely transfers to the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. They bond as the Radhii faces Islamophobia show more and worries about the election of Donald Trump, but having served to make that point in the story she then fades back into the background as the author returns to her inner narrative.

Returning to the start of the book, I thought it was effective to immerse readers in her confusion and fear during the violence by taking us with her as she fled and sheltered around the campus without fully being aware of what was happening and the full extent of the casualties. But then she proceeds on with the story without ever completely filling us in on what happened and how many people were actually killed and injured.

It's a sad statement about me and the current state of the U.S. that, frankly, I did not even recall this particular shooting and had to research it on the internet after finishing the book. With an opportunity to remind everyone about it, I find it odd that Neely, who portrays herself as active in creating an artistic memorial to the shooting victims at UCC, never actually acknowledges any of the victims by their full names. I get leaving the gunman out of the story to deny him the notoriety, but the absence of those shot and killed is a void hard to understand. (Likewise, she never fully names the college in the body of the book, referring to it only as UCC.)

I know this is Neely's personal story, but it feels off to go so deep into herself as to exclude all others also effected by it. show less

Searing, emotional, and unforgettable - this graphic memoir is a look at one girls experience as a survivor of a mass shooting. It's violating, scary, and alters every bit of your life. Numb to this shows the day to day realities, the numbness, the disbelief, the ever present depression and anxiety - but it circles back to hope. It's very personal, tragic, and eye opening - it's also extremely timely with the increasing number of gun violence in America. Written as both a healing balm and a way to reach many who are going through the same struggles - this book is eye opening for all.

A powerful graphic novel memoir depicting the aftermath of a survivor of a mass shooting. The illustrations were muted, to enhance the author’s pov & depression. This is the first YA book I have read that helps the reader understand the after effects of a survivor. Only issue I had was that it felt like it quickly jumped scenes, that some info was left out.

TW: suicidal thoughts; shootings; violence

[No Stars ⭐️.] Such an important memoir that everyone should read. The reason for the no rating is that no rating could describe the feelings/reality of this book.