Zoe is a comic book artist, writing about writing a graphic novel during the pandemic over the down of 6 months. She was meant to travel to the U.S. but that gets postponed. She's suffering from depression and had suffered with suicidal ideation since her teenage years.

This comic is autobiographical and very internal in introspection. I really enjoyed the art style and appreciated how depression is depicted. Obviously there's some heavy topics covered, so mind the trigger warning.

Thank you to Image Comics for an egalley on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book was published published 11/15/22.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and I am so thankful I had the opportunity to read this book! This book was so raw from the meaning to the visuals. The visuals were both beautiful and uncomfortable which is an underlying theme of the book. I don’t often re-read books, but due to the diverse style of each page, I can see myself reaching for this book again. This book is going to stick with me for life.

This book is definitely a hard hitter. I suggest everyone see the TW before starting it.

That being said it is a unique look into someone's life falling apart, deep depression, and what it takes to build it back up again.

Really enjoyed this book! So much that I went out and bought a physical copy! The book was very enjoyable and the illustrations were really good

I finished this book 10 days ago and have let it sit with me before reviewing. I got a copy of this book through NetGalley and thoroughly appreciate getting the opportunity to read and review it. Zoe’s art style captures a really dark period of time in her life in a way that brings you in along for the journey. She has a variety of styles for drawing herself, and uses them to show many facets of herself.
This book was an incredible read while also being tough to get through. Real life can sometimes be tough, and I respect that Zoe didn’t water any of that down but kept all the rough, raw edges to this period in her life.

I normally don't read autobiographical comics but this one is very good, I really liked the art style and the designs of the characters and creatures and most of the artwork is very beautiful.

Thanks to Image Comics and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this book, and it inspired me to start making my own comics. Zoe's raw honesty was refreshing to see on the page. I wish I could read this again for the first time. I'll certainly be finding a spot for this one on my shelf.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. We need to destigmatize talking about and treatment for mental health. It affects every single being on this planet.

Insightful at times, self indulgent at others. Not really my thing but I think people with similar experiences would enjoy.

Thanks NetGalley for the arc.
Pros of the comic I liked the topic and how open she was about her mental heath struggles and hardships, which is very relatable to my own. But having said that their was a few cons at times it was hard to read, seemed a bit scatter brained and the change of art styles took me a bit to get use to. Not sure I fully enjoyed it.

Zoe has struggled with depression her entire life and despite the success of her first graphic novel, doesn’t feel deserving of it or that she has anything else to offer the world. What is even the point of life?

If I had read this when I was around her age, I definitely would have related a lot. This graphic novel was very unique and meta in its storytelling and drawing styles. It was like she was figuring it out as she went, and thats quite a feat to allow yourself to do that rather than get overwhelmed by a perfect story/lesson.

Firstly, the art was UNREAL. Some of the panels really reminded me of Madoka Magica, which is one of my favorite shows with an equally awesome art style. Secondly, this book seriously felt like looking in a mirror. I loved how her mental health journey was non-linear, which is a lot more realistic than a lot of mental health books portray it to be.

This was such a raw and emotional depiction of depression, suicidal ideation and heavy struggles with mental illness whilst trying to navigate life, relationships, self doubt, career possibilities and all the other human things we have to encounter in our lives as we just try to keep on keeping on. I loved the varied art style and illustration, particularly the monstrous depiction of her depression, and the non-linear narration both really lent themselves to the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped by your feelings.

I think this beautiful graphic novel will be hugely relatable (GASP - shock horror!) to an audience who will very much appreciate its existence and the story it tells. However I would absolutely urge readers to be aware of trigger warnings and heavy thematic content so one to read when you feel in a place to do so.

TW for self harm and suicide.

This graphic novel was deep and heart wrenching, and unfortunately relatable to my past self in some ways. The art itself was one of the most unique i have seen, I loved the monsters as use to convey emotions.

It was a good comic plunging into the mind of our mentally ill yet talented protagonist and Zoe, as much as she hates the word, she was very relatable, as someone that fights her demons in a semi daily basis she portrays her inner monolog with different versions of herself in her different moods and stages of life. I really enjoyed this graphic novel, it was comical, depressive, beautiful and wacky. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this one

This was super enjoyable and would be great for people who aren’t necessarily into graphic novels. It’s accessible and the art style is gorgeous.

An interesting and intimate autobiographical graphic novel about an artist with depression struggling to reenter the world after the years of Covid isolation compounded with her own mental health concerns.

While some aspects worked better for me than others (I really didn’t get the choices of when to use the cartoony round head versus the head that looked like hers), it ultimately worked as a self-deprecating and self-reflective work of being trapped in the clutches of mental illness and finding meaning with art and human interaction. It’s not a smooth or straightforward narrative because it’s life, and some transitions were a bit startling, but most of the creative swings worked well and I was never bored once it got going.

I’d recommend this to people who appreciated “My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness” or other autobiographical or semi-autobiographical graphic novels about mental health.

I picked this up on NetGalley on a whim to look at some of the older graphic novels and manga still available, and am glad I did. I’m curious to look into the author’s other work now. This is my honest review.

This metafictional, breaking the fourth wall and playing with identity and autofiction graphic novel is a doozy. Illustrated in many styles, Thorogood's It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth is chaotic, inventive and creative in many ways. It's also a very accurate depiction of mental illness, especially through the lens of an artist. A lot of breaking the fourth wall, playing with different styles of illustrations and art styles, and the plot weaves in and out of meta-references and playing with timelines and universes. There are multiple aspects of the narrator that are physically represented through pieces of them. It's an interesting, beautiful way to depict mental illness and I give Thorogood props for it.

This was such a raw and beautiful account of Zoe's life and what she experiences on a daily basis. I deal with depression and anxiety with having Bipolar so I found myself relating to many of Zoe's feelings. This is such a great expression of what it can be like to deal with depression and it is so relatable and moving, inspirational even. I wish that more people would put out autobiographies in comic form. The art really draws you in and helps you understand what's written even more. I hope wherever Zoe is, that they are doing well.

4.5 stars ⭐️

As a 22 year old who is currently going through an almost endless battle with all things considered sad, I genuinely loved reading this. I usually can't get through a depressive piece of text because I feel as though my life experiences don't compare to those I'm reading about and thus feel a terrific sense of guilt. However, reading this was just nice. Sad, yes, but also nice. Not only did the unbelievably talented graphics help to illustrate how it feels to feel worthless lmao but the deadpan language Zoe used was just refreshing. A lot of texts I've come across use big long words to beat around the bush but sometimes you just need to say you feel depressed and suicidal to better relate to people.

Thank you so much to Zoe Thorogood, Image Comics, and NetGalley for this copy ❤︎