A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings

By Will Betke-Brunswick

A Finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Comics

A Modern Mrs. Darcy's Best Book of Fall

A Shondaland Best Book of November

"Filled with moments of tenderness and humor." ―Library Journal, Starred Review

An unexpected and poignant debut graphic memoir about a close-knit family approaching loss, and the wonder and joy they create along the way.

During Will Betke-Brunswick's sophomore year of college, their beloved mother, Elizabeth, is diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. They only have ten more months together, which Will documents in evocative two-color illustrations. But as we follow Will and their mom through chemo and hospital visits, their time together is buoyed by laughter, jigsaw puzzles, modern art, and vegan BLTs. In a delightful twist, Will portrays their family as penguins, and their friends are cast as a menagerie of birds. In between therapy and bedside chats, they navigate uniquely human challenges, as Will prepares for math exams, comes out as genderqueer, and negotiates familial tension.

A Pros and Cons List for Strong Feelings is an act of loving others and loving oneself, offering a story of coming-of-age, illness, death, and life that announces the arrival of a talented storyteller in Will Betke-Brunswick. At its heart, Will's story is a celebration of a mother-child relationship filled with unconditional devotion, humor, care, and openness.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1953534457
• ISBN13: 9781953534453
• Release Date: November 2022
• Publisher: Tin House Books
• Length: 168 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.4" x 8.4"