Reviews

It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth by Zoe Thorogood is a non-fiction graphic novel about depression, dealing with being known, and the struggle of making connections. When Zoe’s precious graphic novel gets popular, she's invited to a convention that gets post-poned due to COVID and starts to consider her own depression and suicidal ideation.

I don't think I've ever seen someone communicate their depression in a way that hit this close to home. When Zoe says that she's had a lot of luck and maybe she's selfish and evil and deserves the bad things but that her younger self didn't, I cried. It was a very cathartic moment for me and I still tear up thinking about it. It's a brief moment, but that idea that the adult you isn't worth anything but the younger you deserved the world and trying to reconcile those two parts of yourself is so hard to articulate. I thank Zoe Thorogood for putting in in the graphic novel because it made communicating my own feelings a little bit easier.

Zoe Thorogood plays a lot with form throughout, often breaking the fourth wall, showing different parts of herself depicting others as people with animal heads or basic faces while injecting bits of color. You have no idea what to expect as you turn each page and it really works to the story’s benefit because mental illness is exactly like that. It can be unpredictable and bits of color can seep through or maybe you have a monster following you wherever you go.

One thing I really liked was how the graphic novel tackles relatability. The term gets thrown around all the time, creators are encouraged to be relatable, exposing parts of yourself makes people see themselves in you. But how do you deal with that when you feel like you can't connect to anyone and it feels like everyone is leaving you? When people draw connections to your characters and your life and you don't really want to admit that you made an idealized version of yourself? Or when the person that should understand you the most is the person you can't ever seem to see eye-to-eye with?

I love this graphic novel because the only answer it provides is to try to see the good in the world and to try to not let the depression consume you, but it doesn't give easy answers. It's not a self-help books, it's not a feel good story; it's a story of someone dealing with their own brain trying to escape as nothing in their life seems to be working out. We need things like this, too, even if they are a bit uncomfortable.

I would recommend this to readers looking for stories about depression and suicidal ideation, fans of non-fiction graphic novels that deal with difficult topics, and those looking for graphic novel that plays a lot with the medium.

Content Warnings

bookiss's review

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challenging dark emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

edenclam's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

5.0

eleonora_s's review

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3.0

U can tell this was created by someone just emerging out of their adolescence — falls along the lines of “I’m 14 and this is deep.” Tries way too hard to be self aware and ultimately fails, but that is what being 23 (and chronically depressed) is all about. I commend the author on her vulnerability and wish her the best… and wish her lots of therapy before she chooses another crush to pursue. A married dude with kids you met on the internet??? Seriously??

lexandall's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

4.75

ggrillion's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

4.25

evanlorant's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

i kind of read this book as an in-betweener, in the moments where i was looking to fill time. but the little chunks and snippets of reading time i got were a little hit and miss, although the highs were really high. especially the ending, god i am a sucker for meta narrative! it started to read more and more like a therapy session and i really felt the breakthrough at the climax.
at times the meta stuff was heavy handed, but it all fit within the authors own presentation of herself as cringeworthy and unserious. i especially loved all the different versions of herself and their interactions.
although i found it at times a little bit unengaging, overall this was a great read and id love to return to it with more attention someday.

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