The Next Day by J. Porcellino, P. Peterson & J. Gilmore

The Next Day
by John Porcellino, Peter Peterson & John Gilmore
Pop Sandbox Inc., 2011

A harrowing but sincere ‘graphic novella’ based on interviews with four suicide survivors. The book is structured in three sections, first with a brief (one-page) treatment of the actual attempts, then a thorough examination of the characters’ circumstances and what was going through their minds in the days before they attempted to kill themselves. Finally there’s a frank but uplifting look at how their lives have improved since.

Like the similarly-themed Psychiatric Tales, the illustrations by Gilmore are extremely simple; it’s the stories that matter. Different circumstances (childhood sexual abuse by relatives in two instances, substance abuse, mental illness) led the characters to the same conclusion, but their thoughts about life are honest and interesting, without much self-pity. The ending is life-affirming, but not sentimental.