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Spot 12
Spot 12

Spot 12

Five Months in the Neonatal ICU

12+

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

116 Pages, 8 x 10

Formats: Trade Paper

Trade Paper, $19.95 (US $19.95) (CA $23.95)

Publication Date: October 2016

ISBN 9781941203118

Rights: US & CA

Raincloud Press (Oct 2016)

Sorry, this item is temporarily out of stock
 

Overview

A visually gripping graphic memoir, this book delivers the gritty details of a mother, a newborn, and a five-month stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). A routine prenatal exam reveals a dangerous problem and the first-time parents find themselves thrust into a world of close calls, sleepless nights, and psychological crisis. Surrounded by disagreements, deaths, extended family tensions, and questions of faith, the mother struggles to maintain a positive frame of mind. Against the antiseptic, mechanical reality of the NICU, the dedicated health professionals are drawn as sympathetic and wry animal characters. Doctor Eyes and Nurse Gentlehands are two of the care providers that do all they can to take care of Baby Asa. At times the parents battle feelings of helplessness but their determination, insight, bravery, and connection ultimately helps keep their little one alive.

Reviews

"A memorable and beautifully executed memoir of a newborn's difficult first months."  —Kirkus Reviews

"It's a sad, lovely, tragic story. It reminds us how close we are to tragedy at any moment in our lives."  —Tom Hart, author, Rosalie Lightning

"Spot 12, the novel, a unique combination of text and remarkable drawings, was able to completely hold my interest. The topic of parenting a critically ill newborn in the NICU is not a new one . . . But Spot 12 was matchless in its comic book format associating pictures with feelings . . . It is very impressive."  —Dr. Anita Catlin, DNSc, FNP, RN, FAAN, book review in Advances in Neonatal Care journal

"This is what the NICU experience is like from the mom's point of view. The helplessness of not being able to do anything. The struggle of holding yourself together, and then realizing you need help. What an accurate portrayal, all the way down to people you love sometimes making things worse, and people who should know better dismissing clear signs of PTSD."  —Monika, blogger, Lovely Bookshelf

"As much as this is a book about suffering, it is about marriage, the medical system—its highs and lows—realistic love and, of course, parenting. Jaeckel captures it all with ease. This book will appeal to parents who know the otherworldly rooms of intensive care units and their friends, who want to understand what they have been through."  —Island Parent Magazine

Author Biography

Jenny Jaeckel has worked as a translator, Spanish teacher, graphics teacher, and an editor. She is the author and illustrator of For the Love of Meat, Odd Pieces, and Siberiak. She lives in Victoria, British Columbia.