So Many Ways to Draw a Ghost

by Chelsea Granger

This book was made because I want to talk about death. Because I want to talk about grief. Because I believe we need to talk about it more than we do. Because when she died I wanted something like this. This book exists because I believe in art. Because I think our stories matter, because I think our grief matters. Because maybe one person who reads this might feel less alone. With this book I invite the dead to sit at the table and for us to sit there with them. May our grief deepen our presence and our joy.

In February of 2015, when I was 32, my dear friend, Ruth, who was also 32, died of colon cancer. Nine months after Ruth’s death, my mom, Suzann, died suddenly & unexpectedly at 61 from unknown causes. Around this same time within my close community, there were many deaths- fathers, mothers, babies, best friends– a storm cloud of death that had settled around me and my loved ones.
It was a lot.
It was too much.
This book is because of, and about how, things shifted for me since then.
It is a story of grief and learning to grieve, told in pieces. Death broke me, and it also helped me to become more fully alive. I hope this book can honor the unbearable heartbreak of grief.

You will find writing, drawings, photographs, comics, illustrations, prayers, rituals, paintings, essays, and poems. I have many friends who know death intimately and so I asked for contributions to speak to their different experiences with death. Their writing and art is beautiful, powerful, and humbling. I feel honored to share it with you alongside my own work.

151 pages, Paperback

Published February 1, 2023

Reviews

[mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

a gorgeous book, in the style of a zine, for anyone in any phase of grief. a good primer for those yet to experience profound loss as well.