Sarah Leavitt writes creative non-fiction and social commentary, both in prose and graphic form. She wrote a monthly column for Xtra West from 2005-2008 and has published comics, fiction and non-fiction in the following: Geist, Georgia Straight, Vancouver Review, The Globe and Mail and a number of anthologies, including Nobodys Mother (Heritage 2006) and Beyond Forgetting: Poetry and Prose About Alzheimers Disease (Kent State University Press). Sarah has also written short documentaries for Definitely Not the Opera on CBC Radio. In May 2007, Sarah graduated from the MFA program in Creative Writing at UBC.
More information can be found about Sarah Leavitt on her website: www.sarahleavitt.com
Tangles: A Story about Alzheimer's, My Mother and Me
(Broadview Press)
Tangles: A Story about Alzheimer's, My Mother and Me is a graphic memoir in black and white. It tells the story, from Sarah's point of view, of her mother Midge's illness and death from Alzheimers Disease. Throughout Midge's six-year illness, Sarah kept detailed notes and sketches. These are the basis for an unsentimental account of the family's journey, plenty of humour, sarcasm and even sex mixed in with the grief and loss.
Using flashbacks to her childhood, the author shows how Midge changes from a powerful, protective force in Sarah's life to someone who requires constant care. Midge's illness begins when she is only in her early 50s and Sarah is in her late 20s. The narrative explores the themes of memory, language, mother/daughter relationships, growing up and forming one's identity. As Midge declines, Sarah is forced to become more mature and self-reliant, and develops a stronger sense of self in the face of incredible grief and loss.
