Kabi Nagata’s My Solo Exchange Diary 2 begins with an apology. At the end of the last book, she explains, we may have been rooting for her as she met someone she felt she could begin to imagine having some kind of feelings for. But that person does not come into this book.
Instead, this book is about the revolving door of her life, as she develops an addiction, and does stints in the hospital as she valiantly lives with what is obviously ever-more crushing depression, She’s careful at the end to explain that this manga is just one piece of her life – but that it is, in a very real way, her life. Boundaries are hard for a lot of people and people who are ill or disabled, often have an extra difficult time defining and/or defending boundaries. That she’s set some for us, the reader, at the end is the most positive sign, in my opinion. The conversation with her editor about it is terrific.
Even more importantly, this volume includes an original, non-essay work, “Chika-chan’s Depression” which was surprisingly hopeful.
Nothing about this volume is easy. Nothing about being Nagata-sensei is easy, right now, I think. But this comic essay is an important piece of Graphic Medicine. And regardless of the content, we know this is a story about a queer woman dealing with a severe chronic illness for which treatments are inconsistent at best. Again, it is my opinion that makes this worth reading, as “LGBTQ individuals are almost 3 times more likely than others to experience a mental health condition such as major depression or generalized anxiety disorder” according to National Association on Mental Illness (and if you are suffering from either, please visit the NAMI site or call their helpline!)
No ratings will be assessed for this book, as I do not feel I can adequately judge the content of a person’s life. I hope that her other readers and reviewers will consider that this is her life when doing a review.
I was genuinely worried reading this volume, so imagine my relief when it seems like at the end she intends to make an effort in her life. And that fictional manga she drew at the end would make for an interesting fuller story if she intends to expand on it.
The thing we need to remember is that for many people depression will never go away. As much of an effort as she makes, the chemical cocktails running her brain may or may not ever get sorted out. I know you didn’t mean it in a bad way, but we wouldn’t ever be concerned that a person with cancer is “making an effort” or not, because we understand that they are struggling with an illness. Depression is no different. It’s important for folks who do not have depression to understand that.
I’m sorry for sounding ignorant–please believe me, I’m aware that depression is relentlessly difficult for people that suffer from it. I just meant it was nice to read this essay stop on at least a semi-hopeful note as she starts trying things she hadn’t before.
On that note, the thing I was touched by the most was how she was sharing something that helped her, at the end – that advice about trying to think of something to do for someone else each day. It helped me a little, and for her to be wanting to share something that helped her and help others…I’m not wording this right, because it’s something bigger than I’m able to say. I was touched, and I guess I’ll leave it at that.
I agree.
No apologies needed. You were fine, I just took it as a good opportunity to explain depression for folks who just have never experienced it.