"I love comics, and I host a show where I interview comic writers and artists quite frequently. I saw a lot of really wonderful work being done in the realm of LGBTQ+ speculative fiction in illustrated formats and started getting ideas for how the color schemes in my book might play out. That's kind of where it started. So I went back to my original manuscript and wrote a graphic memoir version. Then I hired an artist, Remy Burke, so seeing someone I've never met draw my life was an interesting process, but I think the book turned out beautifully."
"Yeah, I've always been a writer, but when I was closeted, my writings about my life were viewed from a very dark lens. When I came out, I immediately started writing about my life from a more authentic lens, one where the world made a lot more sense. When I was closeted, there was a lot of effort put into keeping me closeted, sad, small, and quiet."
A graphic memoir revisits a life story through two interwoven timelines: one beginning at birth and another beginning at coming out. The work centers on living into a true self after leaving the Mormon community where repression shaped daily life. The transition to openness changes how the writer frames personal writing, moving from a dark, constrained perspective to a more authentic lens where the world feels clearer. The process includes adapting an earlier manuscript into illustrated form, using color and visual storytelling ideas, and collaborating with an artist to depict lived experience. Healing continues as an ongoing effort after leaving a religious background and navigating dating afterward.
Read at Queerty
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