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In Mourning
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE DIES?
The fact of the matter is, no one really knows. What is left behind is what we really know: a tornado of emotions and a feeling of deep, complex change: that what was once there now no longer is.
Paula Cheshire tells the story of her complex feelings and her grieving process after the loss of her mother, walking us through the process of her loss. And, while this loss hurts more than anything, the grieving process—being in mourning—leads to one goal: learning to live with this newfound pain and learning to grow from it without letting it take you over.
The fact of the matter is, no one really knows. What is left behind is what we really know: a tornado of emotions and a feeling of deep, complex change: that what was once there now no longer is.
Paula Cheshire tells the story of her complex feelings and her grieving process after the loss of her mother, walking us through the process of her loss. And, while this loss hurts more than anything, the grieving process—being in mourning—leads to one goal: learning to live with this newfound pain and learning to grow from it without letting it take you over.
136 pages, Paperback
First published August 26, 2025
33 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 21, 2025
In Mourning by Paula Cheshire is a graphic novel that’s sad and heartbreakingly honest—but also deeply heartfelt and, for me, as therapeutic as I hope it was for the artist. Paula shares her journey through grief using a five-stage framework inspired by Kübler-Ross, though what stood out most were the quieter, less talked-about feelings—like confusion and emptiness—which I related to deeply after also recently losing my mum. This book made me cry, but I’m grateful I found it. It gave shape to emotions I hadn’t yet named.
June 21, 2025
Only a graphic novel can show the roller coaster of emotions in this way and Cheshire has such talent both illustrating her story as well as emoting about the loss of her mother in her 20s, which has good company with other books like Dancing at the Pity Party: A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir and Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant? and Crying in H Martand even a dose of (though it's different) I’m Glad My Mom Died as a juxtaposition.
Either way this bridges the age range of upper YA into new adult / adult because of her age and how she deadens her emotions with alcohol and marijuana while navigating adult relationships and friendships. Some of the topics won't necessarily be experiences that an older teen would have. But mourning is mourning and this deeply felt experience and how she moves through the stages (excellently plotted and paced, by the way) is just a feather in the cap of this story that could be a mirror, a window, or a sliding glass door for any reader. And as a reader, even if you want to live more inside the art, that's just as enriching as the empathetic understanding of a grieving daughter.
Either way this bridges the age range of upper YA into new adult / adult because of her age and how she deadens her emotions with alcohol and marijuana while navigating adult relationships and friendships. Some of the topics won't necessarily be experiences that an older teen would have. But mourning is mourning and this deeply felt experience and how she moves through the stages (excellently plotted and paced, by the way) is just a feather in the cap of this story that could be a mirror, a window, or a sliding glass door for any reader. And as a reader, even if you want to live more inside the art, that's just as enriching as the empathetic understanding of a grieving daughter.
August 30, 2025
Translated from Spanish by Nanette McGuinness and Mercedes Guhe
There are a lot more people involved in the making of this graphic novel, something I have not paid attention to before.
I saw this book come up at a time when I was going through a similar phase. It wasn’t my mother but my mother-in-law. It came on the heels of what was supposed to be happier times and took everyone for a ride. It’s only been a couple of months and although I’m not as impacted as others, it still made me curious to get someone’s thought process of processing the loss.
It’s a very brutal reflection on the part of the author. She’s written this after getting to grips with the loss in the only form that’s possible. She went through all the psychological steps of loss and walks us through it while maintaining subtle enough humour to not render the topic or the reader uncomfortable.
I would not recommend this to any average browsing reader. There’s grief and struggle within these pages and it will be unwelcome to anyone who isn’t prepared to read about such topics.
The art is not exactly my style but it works in the bigger picture. Fans of the author will be familiar with the style and presentation.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
There are a lot more people involved in the making of this graphic novel, something I have not paid attention to before.
I saw this book come up at a time when I was going through a similar phase. It wasn’t my mother but my mother-in-law. It came on the heels of what was supposed to be happier times and took everyone for a ride. It’s only been a couple of months and although I’m not as impacted as others, it still made me curious to get someone’s thought process of processing the loss.
It’s a very brutal reflection on the part of the author. She’s written this after getting to grips with the loss in the only form that’s possible. She went through all the psychological steps of loss and walks us through it while maintaining subtle enough humour to not render the topic or the reader uncomfortable.
I would not recommend this to any average browsing reader. There’s grief and struggle within these pages and it will be unwelcome to anyone who isn’t prepared to read about such topics.
The art is not exactly my style but it works in the bigger picture. Fans of the author will be familiar with the style and presentation.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
May 31, 2025
A beautiful story about the emotions that we feel when someone we love dies.
The feeling of loss is the obvious emotion but the unspoken ones, the imsomnia, the depresion, the guilt and the anger.
We don't talk about these feeling because its just to hard, and we are so sure no one understands or wants to hear about them.
The journey she went through when her mother died had me in tears. Not because it was so tragic but because it was so familar. I have felt each of these emotions from the loss of my sister 30 years ago, to the passing of my father, and the passing of my mother.
Insomnia is such an old friend, to sleep seems odd.
And yes, I do not speak about these things to friends or family for a myriad of reasons.
Pau;a Cheshire hit home on all of these feelings in an honest and unvarnished way. Even with the sad theme, this book is beautiful.
As is her art and style.
Highly Recommended. Expected Publishing date; August 26, 2025
Thanks to @netgalley and Mad Cave Studios/Maverick for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
The feeling of loss is the obvious emotion but the unspoken ones, the imsomnia, the depresion, the guilt and the anger.
We don't talk about these feeling because its just to hard, and we are so sure no one understands or wants to hear about them.
The journey she went through when her mother died had me in tears. Not because it was so tragic but because it was so familar. I have felt each of these emotions from the loss of my sister 30 years ago, to the passing of my father, and the passing of my mother.
Insomnia is such an old friend, to sleep seems odd.
And yes, I do not speak about these things to friends or family for a myriad of reasons.
Pau;a Cheshire hit home on all of these feelings in an honest and unvarnished way. Even with the sad theme, this book is beautiful.
As is her art and style.
Highly Recommended. Expected Publishing date; August 26, 2025
Thanks to @netgalley and Mad Cave Studios/Maverick for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
June 14, 2025
Cartoonist Paula Cheshire opens her heart and invites us to share her experience of dealing with the loss of her Mother from cancer. Beautifully told and illustrated, Paula doesn't shy away from ugly side of grief as she takes us through how her mother's death affected her own mental, emotional and physical wellbeing, and the impact it had on her relationships with family and friends. We are with her as she develops unhealthy coping mechanisms, and as she reaches out to seek help.
In Mourning is a powerful exploration of love and loss and I feel very privileged that Paula Cheshire chose to share it with us.
In Mourning is a powerful exploration of love and loss and I feel very privileged that Paula Cheshire chose to share it with us.
August 30, 2025
A beautiful look at one person's process working through loss and learning to live with grief. This was a lovely book, a peek into someone else's life. All of us at some time have lost someone and had to learn to live with the empty space in the world that they used to occupy in your life and your heart. I have been struggling with losing my family (not through death but through other circumstances) and am going through my own sort of grieving. This was a nice little reminder that it is okay to mourn and just as okay to start remembering the good things and not just focus on the way things end.
Thanks so much to Maverick for the DRC!
Thanks so much to Maverick for the DRC!
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May 23, 2025“In Mourning” is a touching and deeply personal story about the author’s experience with losing her mother.
The book explores the stages of grief with honesty and emotion, making it relatable for others who have gone through loss.
The art style is nice and simple.
While it’s a sad read, it’s also meaningful and well done. A good book for those looking to understand or reflect on mourning.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The book explores the stages of grief with honesty and emotion, making it relatable for others who have gone through loss.
The art style is nice and simple.
While it’s a sad read, it’s also meaningful and well done. A good book for those looking to understand or reflect on mourning.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 6, 2025
This book is. It just is. It’s about the author, wanting their mother after she passed from pancreatic cancer. It’s both a remembrance and a celebration of a person no longer with us. It’s a look at how they handled everything that was going on. It’s not meant to be self-help. It’s not meant to be “I did it so can you”. It just happened and drawing about it helps me. It helps me remember both the good and the bad. This was done with a lot of love and emotion that. It’s not something I would want to read repeatedly, but I think it could be helpful to others going through similar things.
August 31, 2025
Chesire shares every awful, heart-rending detail of what it felt like to lose her mother to cancer in this super personal graphic memoir that feels like a love letter of understanding to others who have suffered a similar loss. She is not shy about sharing the dark thoughts and moments that fall on you like a ton of bricks, but she always follows that up with the ways that you can slowly start to heal.
I'm grateful to her for putting into images and words what many of us don't know how to express.
Massive and heartfelt thanks to Maverick for the review copy.
I'm grateful to her for putting into images and words what many of us don't know how to express.
Massive and heartfelt thanks to Maverick for the review copy.
May 22, 2025
Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!
This book was both beautiful and emotional. My mom is my best friend, and knowing that someday I'll lose her is always hard to face. However, reading and seeing someone else's grief process and realizations let me see that when that dark day does come, I won't be alone in the world, and my feelings will be normal. The art throughout is beautiful and pleasing, I could see this author/artist making it very big in the realm of art.
This book was both beautiful and emotional. My mom is my best friend, and knowing that someday I'll lose her is always hard to face. However, reading and seeing someone else's grief process and realizations let me see that when that dark day does come, I won't be alone in the world, and my feelings will be normal. The art throughout is beautiful and pleasing, I could see this author/artist making it very big in the realm of art.
May 31, 2025
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
In Mourning is a short and sweet graphic novel about how Paula processed and coped with her mother’s death following pancreatic cancer. The story was well written, the art was cute and I think it was a beautiful tribute to her loss. Great graphic novel for teens to read when they’re dealing with the loss of a parent.
#IndigoEmployee
In Mourning is a short and sweet graphic novel about how Paula processed and coped with her mother’s death following pancreatic cancer. The story was well written, the art was cute and I think it was a beautiful tribute to her loss. Great graphic novel for teens to read when they’re dealing with the loss of a parent.
#IndigoEmployee
June 18, 2025
A heartfelt and beautifully illustrated graphic novel about love and loss as Paula Cheshire writes about her her mother's passing from cancer. Broken into the different stages of grief, Paula walks us through her struggle to first accept her mother being sick, and then her inability to process it and eventually come to a healthy place with it. A beautiful book to walk your own path of grief with.
Copy provided by publisher.
Copy provided by publisher.
June 22, 2025
I really loved this graphic novel! It pulls you right into Paula’s grieving process after losing her mother to cancer, and takes you through all the different stages of grief. It’s such an emotional rollercoaster, and the illustrations are absolutely beautiful. I’d definitely recommend this one for both YA readers and adults.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC
May 23, 2025
I recieved this book through Netgalley and I'm so glad I did. This book brought up issues I went through when losing my mom yo cancer a get years back that I dint realize were connected. I absolutely love this read. Highly recommend. It's good for everyone.
August 7, 2025
Relatable graphic novel about the author's grief after her mother passed from pancreatic cancer. Marketed as a YA book, but I could see this in the Adult collection as well.
Thanks to Maverick / Mad Cave Studios for the eARC. Publication date: August 26, 2025.
Thanks to Maverick / Mad Cave Studios for the eARC. Publication date: August 26, 2025.
May 30, 2025
I love any memoir about the loss of a parent even though it makes me sad!! Also the artwork was really adorable and amazing.
August 18, 2025
A beautiful look at grief; I would recommend it for older teens and adults, not for children due to the struggles with drugs and alcohol.
Thank you for the eARC!
Thank you for the eARC!
June 2, 2025
Thank you so much Mad Cave Studios for the ARC!
A deeply moving and tragic novel about grief. No one can ever be prepared for losing a parent, but Cheshire does a fantastic job of navigating the stages of grief, while also providing hilariously relatable quips along the way. You can see how difficult this piece was for Cheshire, and I think that adds to the intensity and depth that resonated with me after finishing. Will definitely be recommending for those in need of a book about grief.
A deeply moving and tragic novel about grief. No one can ever be prepared for losing a parent, but Cheshire does a fantastic job of navigating the stages of grief, while also providing hilariously relatable quips along the way. You can see how difficult this piece was for Cheshire, and I think that adds to the intensity and depth that resonated with me after finishing. Will definitely be recommending for those in need of a book about grief.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews