Dear Scarlet: The Story of My Postpartum Depression - Softcover

Wong, Teresa

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551527650 ISBN 13: 9781551527659

Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2019

Synopsis

In this intimate and moving graphic memoir, Teresa Wong writes and illustrates the story of her struggle with postpartum depression in the form of a letter to her daughter Scarlet. Equal parts heartbreaking and funny, Dear Scarlet perfectly captures the quiet desperation of those suffering from PPD and the profound feelings of inadequacy and loss. As Teresa grapples with her fears and anxieties and grasps at potential remedies, coping mechanisms, and her mother’s Chinese elixirs, we come to understand one woman's battle against the cruel dynamics of postpartum depression.

Dear Scarlet is a poignant and deeply personal journey through the complexities of new motherhood, offering hope to those affected by PPD, as well as reassurance that they are not alone.

About this title

About the Author

Teresa Wong is a Calgary writer who had three children in less than five years. At first, she feared motherhood would destroy her, but is pleasantly surprised to find herself continually remade. When the kids are asleep, she writes and draws pictures. When she is asleep, it’s never for long. Dear Scarlet is her first book.

Review

"Dear Scarlet feels brave: Wong articulates sentiments that fly in the face of societal conventions about motherhood in a book explicitly created for her daughter to read ... the urgency of these stories is matched by the immediacy of their form." —New York Times

"We see quiet but daunting images: simple bird's-eye views of her baby surrounded by white space, tiny arms stretching out of her swaddle. The rendering's variance in tone feels true to life. It's sometimes quiet, sometimes deafening, and always complex. Whatever the volume, there are always possibilities for suffocation but also for beauty and hope." —Paris Review

"With heartbreaking candor and utterly disarming humor, Wong removes the rose-colored glasses through which our culture so often views new motherhood." —Bustle

"This raw but reassuring memoir filled with helpful suggestions to mothers struggling with similar situations and feelings is sure to resonate with many new parents." —Publishers Weekly

"This book is so important -- it's like a friend reaching through the darkness and telling your own story back to you. It's universal and heartbreaking and so, so reassuring. Moms are so strong." —Lucy Knisley, author of Kid Gloves

"Teresa Wong's spare, lovely exploration of postpartum depression is compassionate and direct in all the right ways and, most importantly, locates the thread of joy that runs through a life -- even if, in our most despairing hours or days or weeks, it seems as though it's been lost to us forever." —Emily Flake, author of Mama Tried

"In a society where women's stories of childbirth and early motherhood are expected to be either fairy tales or else not told at all, Dear Scarlet is an act of bravery. I am so grateful that Teresa Wong has chosen to share this sensitive, charming and honest work with us." —Sarah Glidden, author of Rolling Blackouts

"Full to bursting with sadness, insight and hope." -Tom Hart, author of Rosalie Lightning

About this edition

• Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1551527650
• ISBN 13: 9781551527659
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128