Cartoon Therapy

Depression as depicted by Brosh

If you’ve ever owned a dog, you simply must read Hyperbole and a Half, by Allie Brosh.  It’s a collection of posts (cartoon drawings with prose) from her blog of the same name. The pieces about dogs are laugh-out-loud, teary-eyed hilarious. The drawings are fun, the prose easy.  The book is over 350 pages long, but you can easily read it in a single sitting. She has a real talent for contrasting the limited vision of one being with the broader wiser approach of another. Whether it’s dog and owner, child and parent, or inner child and outer adult self, there’s much wisdom here about the games we play in day-to-day life. She’s smart about depression (having gone through it herself), and very insightful about motivation in general. She tries hard to apply logic to situations which are inherently illogical. The results are sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, and always revealing. You’ll see yourself and your loved ones in many of the pieces, and in some cases you won’t be so happy about that. But what a refreshing and creative way to deal with deep psychological issues. Blog on, Allie.