A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings
by Will Betke-Brunswick
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Pub Date Nov 15 2022 | Archive Date Oct 31 2022
Tin House | Tin House Books
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Description
“Deeply human.” —Maia Kobabe, author of Gender Queer
An unexpected and poignant debut graphic memoir about a close-knit family approaching loss, and the wonder and joy they create along the way.
During Will Betke-Brunswick’s sophomore year of college, their beloved mother, Elizabeth, is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. They only have ten more months together, which Will documents in evocative two-color illustrations. But as we follow Will and their mom through chemo and hospital visits, their time together is buoyed by laughter, jigsaw puzzles, modern art, and vegan BLTs. In a delightful twist, Will portrays their family as penguins, and their friends are cast as a menagerie of birds. In between therapy and bedside chats, they navigate uniquely human challenges, as Will prepares for math exams, comes out as genderqueer, and negotiates familial tension.
A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings is an act of loving others and loving oneself, offering a story of coming-of-age, illness, death, and life that announces the arrival of a talented storyteller in Will Betke-Brunswick. At its heart, Will’s story is a celebration of a mother-child relationship filled with unconditional devotion, humor, care, and openness.
About the Author: Will Betke-Brunswick is a cartoonist and a recent graduate of the California College of the Arts MFA in Comics program. Will's work has appeared in the new print edition of Trans Bodies, Trans Selves; How to Wait: An Anthology of Transition; and the websites INTO and Autostraddle.
Advance Praise
"Life does not deliver a series of discrete events, but a tangle of overlapping experiences. The author was working on a mathematics degree, playing on a hockey team, and slowly coming out as trans and nonbinary when their mom was diagnosed with cancer. This book weaves memories from the author's childhood with scenes from the last few months of their mother's life into a tender story of acceptance, care, and love. The heavy moments are lightened by the portrayal of the family as penguins, with friends and strangers as a flock of other birds, but the story is deeply human." - Maia Kobabe, author of Gender Queer
"Will Betke-Brunswick's A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings is a remarkable, but also chaotically specific, meditation on family and love. Will's personable and charming penguins navigate through the months after their mother's cancer diagnosis with an indomitable spirit and so so so much tender hilarity, even considering the subject matter. The rhythm of the lists Will uses in the book—final gifts from their mother, contents of a fridge, art in their house—are heartbreaking in how precisely they portray their family. I definitely have Strong Feelings about this book, and those feelings are largely that it is a stunning work that everyone ought to read." - Shing Yin Khor, author of The American Dream?
"Will has created a beautiful, heartwarming family portrait, told thoughtfully with perfect spaciousness and pacing. Grief and growing up felt so tactile and close as I read this book, cover to cover, ending in tears, thrilled to be brought there by penguins." - Nicole J. Georges, author of Calling Dr. Laura
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781953534453 |
| PRICE | $18.95 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Emily F, Reviewer
A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings was such an incredible read. This graphic novel is about Will's mother's last few months. Will includes conversations, planning for the inevitable, and more throughout the book. There were moments when my heart broke and moments where I laughed out loud. The illustrations were perfect.
Ilana P, Reviewer
I'm not going to lie, I was a bit skeptical doing it, because at first glance you have these weird and silly bird illustrations that I wasn't expecting. But oh, was I surprised. It's a story about grief and loss, but also about love and acceptance. The hard parts were perfectly balanced with the fun parts. This novel makes you feel a lot. The illustrations are really different and I think that makes the story that much more unique.
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