The Illustrated Life: Top 10 Graphic Memoirs
Author: Marisa Acocella Marchetto
Year Released: 2009
Get This BookArtist: Marisa Acocella Marchetto
There are several deeply affecting graphic memoirs that deal with cancer head-on (Our Cancer Year, Mom’s Cancer just to name a few). Cancer Vixen’s strength is in the vibrant, energetic art that perfectly captures New Yorker cartoonist Marisa Acocella Marchetto’s unsinkable spirit, humor and courage during her 11-month battle with breast cancer. A self-described “lipstick-obsessed” New York City fashionista, Marchetto’s life was flourishing, both personally and professionally, when she received her life-changing diagnosis. What follows is her journey from “cancer victim” to “cancer vixen,” and is as much about changing one’s perspective in life as it is about beating cancer. Juxtaposing the indignities of the illness (the unflattering hospital gowns, the relinquishing of vanity), with the uplifting moments of kindness and compassion—often from the people least-expected to offer it—Cancer Vixen deftly navigates the emotional minefield of illness, treatment and recovery, with an uplifting, triumphant spirit.
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