Dancing at the Pity Party of the author’s way of dealing with the grief of losing their mom. This was a laugh out loud graphic novel about the grimmest of subjects, death. I was nodding along to the jokes, and laughing at the author’s witty humour. This book celebrated the author’s mom’s life, explained how she died of cancer, and how the author dealt with it all.

I felt a really strong connection to this book. My father died when I was twelve. People are weird when they are tying to console you. Or as the author writes it’s awkward consoling people about your dead mother. I remember the kind, meaningless words from strangers you rarely see. I remember the gifts of casseroles stacking up in the fridge from friends and family. I remember all the crying, too. People sure do like to cry when people die.

Seriously though, I wish I had this book in my hands when my father just died. This book would’ve helped me feel less alone in my grief and less angry at all those people with living mom’s and dads. Jerks.

If you have a lost a mother or father when you were a young lad or lass, I would recommend this book to you. If you are too serious (and boring) to laugh at death, don’t pick this up.

Rating: ★★★★★

Book #74 in my 2022 Reading Challenge