A Child's Life and Other Stories

To put it bluntly, A Child's Life is a visual assault that needs to happen. When there are news reports of sexual abuse, rape, incest, drugs either on television or the radio we viewers are shielded from what that really means. We allow our imaginations to blunt the sharp edges of reality. We cringe, but we don't go there with the truth. Gloeckner doesn't allow this. You don't have permission to soften this horrific reality. As a graphic novel the pictures tell the stories of an abused childhood better than any words in a novel. In a word, it was painful and when I finished I had words of my own; words like harsh, gritty, shocking, tragic yet truthful rang in my ears.

excellent!