Something, Not Nothing by Sarah Leavitt

In April 2020, cartoonist Sarah Leavitt's partner of twenty-two years, Donimo, died with medical assistance after years of severe chronic pain and a rapid decline at the end of her life. About a month after Donimo's death, Sarah began making comics again as a way to deal with her profound sense of grief and loss. The comics started as small sketches but quickly transformed into something totally unfamiliar to her. Abstract images, textures, poetic text, layers of watercolour, ink, and coloured pencil - for Sarah, the journey through grief was impossible to convey without bold formal experimentation. She spent two years creating these comics.

The result isSomething, Not Nothing, an extraordinary book that delicately articulates the vagaries of grief and the sweet remembrances of enduring love. Moving and impressionistic,Something, Not Nothingshows that alongside grief, there is room for peace, joy, and new beginnings.

Sarah Leavitt is a Vancouver comics creatorand writing teacher. Her debut book wasTangles: A Story About Alzheimer's, My Mother, and Me.