Brittle Joints

<p><b>2025 Eisner Award Nominee!</b></p><p><b>New York Public Library Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2024</b></p><p><b>American Library Associate Top 10 Best Graphic Novels for Adults of 2024</b></p><p><b>Starred Review from <i>Publishers Weekly. </i>"It's a revealing visualization of a rare, 'depersonalizing' condition and how Sweeney finds 'drops of disabled joy whenever I can.' Sweeney's subtle and elegant art reflects the nuance of her moment-to-moment struggle."</b></p><p><b><i>An evocative and heartfelt graphic memoir about the challenges of living with a progressive disability.</i></b></p><p>When Maria Sweeney was young, she kept count of her broken bones. As she grew older, she stopped. Living with Bruck syndrome, a rare progressive condition that gives her very brittle bones and joint abnormalities, meant that those numbers climbed and climbed.</p><p>Today, she struggles every day, living in an often-inaccessible world. As an ambulatory wheelchair user, ordinary actions like entering a building, sitting at a café, or holding a cup of tea can be drastically different for her than for others.</p><p>With lush illustrations, Maria tells the story of her lifelong struggle to obtain care in an increasingly complicated and disinterested US healthcare system. But for every step that presents a struggle, there's also beauty, friendship, art, and growth. She documents the relief she's found in alternative therapies, particularly medical marijuana; in loving community and chosen family; and in nature and her creative practice. A powerfully understated critique of our modern world, <i>Brittle Joints</i> offers a generous, expansive look at how to live and love amidst the challenges of survival.</p>