This children’s story was hilarious, impactful, and thematically strong! Front of the line for teachers of young children.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This adult graphic novel is about a nurse and her aging patient who is declining. There's moments of joy and sadness and all in all a great read.

Oh, my heart! This broke it. This graphic memoir is lovely, and sad, and filled with so many feels. The author, Valerie Villieu, is a visiting nurse in France, and this story is about one of her patients who suffered from Alzheimer's, Josephine. It's a story that could've taken place in any country- caregivers who are under-trained, underpaid, and overworked, conservators overwhelmed by the numbers of people under their charge, causing the people to wait days, weeks, or months to get funds released to them for everyday needs, families who have given up on their relative who has become more than what they want to deal with. Valerie tells of her years taking care of Josephine, getting to know her, her ups and downs, the struggles with the system to try and get Josephine the care and the necessities she needed. Eventually, Josephine begins to deteriorate more quickly, and....well, you can guess how it ends. The illustrations by Raphael Sarfati add such a poignancy to the story; the use of blank space and empty panels, and the stretches of art showing the mental state of Josephine were very effective and well done. This is not the easiest read, but at the same time is not heavy-handed, and is sweet, sobering, and important. Definitely recommended.

#LittleJosephine #NetGalley

I think this is an important graphic nonfiction/biography title for public libraries to have, in order to present a needed critical view of how society treats some of its most vulnerable people, those suffering from dementia. Though this takes place in France, I think the struggles that Josephine and her nurse go through in order to ensure that she receives proper care while living alone are applicable to many western societies. I enjoyed the art, and the way that it utilized a standard 9-panel grid but also played around with that format, by having panels get moved out of place as a way of showing Josephine's mindset, and by having art work bleed over the panels as well. Overall, I would recommend this as a purchase for most public libraries that collect in adult graphic novel nonfiction titles and biographies.

*Received via NetGalley for review*

Clearly, this is meant to be a touching and not-so gentle rebuke of the state of France's mental and elder care. And it almost gets there - Josephine is a touching character, full of life and spunk, who is tragically suffering from both age and the indifference of those meant to care for her. Valerie, her new companion, sees the life and spark left in this incredible women, but unfortunately wasn't able to do much.

If we had spent more time with Valerie and Josephine, and watched their friendship grow and strengthen, it would have been more impactful. As it is, we get glimpses of this great bond, but the emotional heart is not as strong as it should be.

What it does do, however, is make you furious for all the neglected and lonely elderly people, in France and elsewhere, who have no one checking after them and caring for them. They're relegated to the state or the country, and receive suboptimal care that does nothing for them.

Was not into this title. Was not able to download a copy onto my iPad. There needs to be an easier way to download items besides a PDF version. No kindle download capability for this title.

Little Josephine breaks your heart, fills you with love and shines a light on those with memory issues and the services that they rely on to live. Valerie Villieu is a travelling medical assistant who, with the help of beautiful illustrations takes us on her journey with a patient and friend Josephine. The reader learns all about Josephine, her life, the systems treatment of her, and just how much Valerie cared about her. Josephine's life isn't just about Alzheimer's or Josephine's lust for life but how the relationships between people are the best parts of anyone's life. An amazing memoir, even with the tears I shed.

It's so very important for books like this one to be available, but what an emotionally difficult read. As a family member of someone dealing with memory loss, I can attest to the hard truths located within these pages. I sincerely appreciate the work caregivers offer...watching someone go through this is one of the hardest things to do.

This was hard reading. Not level wise, but emotional. It’s about a woman's experience as a helper to another woman with alzhimers. It does not take place in the US, but the experiences are similar. People with no one left for social offices to deal with that have too little time, and too little staff. I won’t say I enjoyed this book because it was a sad reminder about what happens to older individuals with no family to look after them. But it was well done and well worth the read.
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An engaging story by an eldercare nurse in Paris. Villieu gives us a look into the way in which dementia progresses and of the health care system in Paris, France. This would be an excellent title to suggest for someone dealing with a relative with dementia. The graphic style is lighthearted but also portrays Josephine's confusion very well. While telling the story, author provides suggestions for coping with some of the common symptoms of dementia.

A creative poignant depiction of both living with dementia and serving as a caregiver. I appreciated how the illustrations sometimes spoke what couldn't be adequately put into words.

An interesting perspective on - and an important reminder of - caring for the aging/infirm with dignity and grace.
Josephine is an older woman with dementia who can no longer care for herself. In a system that seems to forget her humanity and value, there is a bright spot, the narrator and caregiver of this beautifully drawn graphic novel.
This story equally broke and warmed my heart. It is difficult to acknowledge that there are wolves out there, preying on older people. It is painful to think about the isolation, fear, and stress they experience.

Little Josephine is a happy/sad story about a nurse and her friendship with a patient that has Alzheimer's. The artwork, while cartoonish, does a really good job expressing how it feels to be with someone that suffers from this disease. Having had a grandfather that suffered with this, a lot of the issues Valerie deals with I've experienced. Thankfully I have a grandmother who was able to care for him and get him into a proper home when the time came, but it was still hard to watch him deteriorate.

Josephine care just left me angry, and it's one of those things that seems to happen all the time. Older people with mental problems are often neglected because they won't remember what has happened to them and often lack the ability to fight for themselves. It was really sad reading about Josephine's caregivers, and how her conservator was too swamped to deal with any issue without someone pushing back constantly. It made me sad for all the other people in care that didn't have someone fighting for them. This book provides a really good case for why we need better services and health care. We especially need to start paying the people that care for our elderly a better wage and provide training, maybe they'd be willing to actually give a crap then.

The ending was so sad, not because you knew what was coming, but to learn that she had family, they just didn't care enough about her to see her or fight for her. This is a book people should read when dealing with someone that has these issues.