Description

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Marian Henley's beautifully illustrated memoir tells an emotionally resonant story about the wonder and redemption of raising a son after surviving extreme male violence.  

This poignant graphic memoir describes the most difficult conversation between a mother and her son — the one about the two rapes she experienced as a young woman. It’s something she always knew she would share with her son, but the process of doing so is harder — and more freeing — than she could have imagined. This difficult but beautiful story chronicles how she overcame trauma and violence to find love and healing as a mother. Drawing on her decades as a professional cartoonist, Henley’s elegant black ink illustrations, trademark humor, and witty writing style shine through even in the darkest moments and tell a story of survivorship, parenting, and hope.

About the Author

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Marian Henley is a cartoonist, artist, and author whose work has appeared since 1981 in many U.S. publications such as Funny TImes, Austin Chronicle, LA Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, MS. Glamour, MAD, newsletters for Hawaiian polygamists, recovery books for renegade Scientologists, funny sex books from the Kinsey Institute, and, yes, we had better stop right there. Her work has been translated for foreign publication into Russian, Swedish, Italian, and Spanish. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband Rick, son William, and numerous cats and dogs.

Praise For…

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“Henley, creator of the long-running weekly comic strip Maxine, recounts in this fearless and lyrical graphic memoir her decision to tell her adopted son, William, about her history as a sexual assault victim… Henley’s loose, quivering linework is acrobatic; simple, understated panels periodically give way to a vividly rendered memory or a fiercely expressive face. The pain in her story is braced by her hope, elegantly expressed, that sharing it can make a difference, and her lithe art makes a difficult topic approachable. This joins the ranks of works like Diane Noomin’s Drawing Power that raise awareness of sexual violence through the immediacy of comics memoir." (Publishers Weekly)

"Finding the Light is a remarkable book about trauma, resilience, motherhood, and ultimately, honesty. I read it in one sitting, then immediately read it again. Marian’s book will resonate with survivors, but also with parents, children, and anyone that loves deep, funny, and wise storytelling." (Wendi Aarons, author of "I'm Wearing Tunics Now")