Precious RubbishPrecious Rubbish

"If an exorcism can ever be slow and quiet, then every panel I've finished has felt something like an exorcism. The gutters give me space to make sense of things: to connect dots and close gaps. To remember." Kayla E.'s Precious Rubbish is an experimental graphic memoir drawn in a style that references the aesthetics of mid-century children's comics and tells the story of a childhood shaped by maternal emotional dysregulation, rural poverty, and incest. The author's childhood is portrayed as a collection of short-form comics and gag panels punctuated by interactive elements like paper dolls, satirical advertisements, games, and puzzles."-- Publisher.
""Maybe deep down, Kayla realizes she's not here for me. It hurts that she moved so far away. Contacting me once in a great while is not the same as actually being here for me. Taking a 'quick break from work' and asking 'how I'm doing' doesn't give a realistic perception of the severity of my health issues and what my life is like on a daily basis. If she spent a little time with me, it would help her better understand my life. If my mother had to live in government housing and endure almost eight years of severe bullying, harassment, verbal and emotional abuse, and traumatization, including threats of physical harm to her little dog, I would do everything in my power to protect her and move her to a safer place. I live in this hellish environment in addition to dealing with my severe health issues, which have progressively gotten worse. And it's even more painful because I have to deal with it alone." *Adapted from a text message by the author's mother"-- Page 4 of cover.