Eventually Everything Connects: Eight Essays on Uncertainty

by Sarah Firth

Joyous musings on the meaningful and the mundane for troubled times.

In her debut graphic novel, Sarah Firth ponders some of life’s deepest philosophical questions: Why are we here? How are we supposed to get along with one another? What on earth is that slug doing in my bathroom sink?

From daydreams and pop culture memes to the teachings of science, philosophy, and history, Firth weaves together a mix of great and silly ideas based on her own lived experience, all tossed together with unique energy, boundless curiosity and humor, and colorful, detailed, kinetic drawings. Through eight autobiographical visual essays, Firth explores how to live better in the modern world; ways to be more compassionate toward oneself, others, and the planet; and how everything does, eventually, connect.

Honest, profound, and profane, Eventually Everything Connects is a life-affirming book about the joys and pains of living in a hypercomplex and uncertain world.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Essays, Memoir, Comics, Art, Graphic Novels Comics

282 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2023

Reviews

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

this collection of eight illustrated essays contains existential musings on being present, interconnectedness, enjoying life whilst the world is falling apart, sex, death, ends of eras, environmental destruction, nature, memory, the subjectivity of perception, selfhood, and more.

unfortunately, this book is very text-heavy for a graphic novel. several drawings are copy-paste repeated across the book, which feels like an odd corner-cutting measure, and tells me that the art is secondary to the words. i almost wondered why firth made this a graphic novel at all.

i agree with many of firth's ideas, and i appreciate her grounded perspectives, but i didn't enjoy the repetitive art or the wordy delivery.

the final piece, "the lives of others," is my favorite. moths and a mary oliver quote: "attention is the beginning of devotion."

[Sherry Du · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insanely creative!!! Sarah firth is a master of storytelling and illustration. This is the first of its kind I’ve ever read and I would have trouble categorising it at a bookshop - part graphic novel, part illustrated essay, and part formal journaling / memoir?

Very thought provoking and digestible

[Jaclyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firth uses the graphic novel form to probe ideas of existence, identity, the human experience, climate anxiety, mental health, scientific endeavours and so much more. Her lines of enquiry and thought spiral from the minute to the all-encompassing. I completely fell into this wonderful book and as much as I wanted to ration it, I devoured it. It’s a book about everything and its interconnectedness and is mind-expanding and funny and warm and heartbreaking.

[eclaire de lune · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would categorize the insights in this book as "mildly profound," certainly nothing I hadn't heard before. The illustrations have dynamic colors and flow, though Firth's way of drawing human faces is somewhat unappealing.

Also, are we just going to gloss over the fact that Firth not only showered in a moldy bath for a year, but wouldn't let her roommate clean it?? If I had a roommate that forced me to have mold in my living space, I would boot them out immediately.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firth excels at using the graphic format to convey complex ideas - unsurprisingly, I guess, given she works creating graphic records of workshops. These essays explore aspects of being alive in this time and place - from our connection or disconnection to moment and place (throughout, Firth uses an effective series of light nodes to indicate humans focused on the internet); to sexuality and shame; to how to keep living with joy in the face of a grim future. Firth's curiousity, love of a good story and a good factoid, bring these essays to life as much as her considerable artistic skill. This is a great, stimulating read, which shows how graphic non-fiction can convey things in ways prose can't.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book comforts with its bigness and its smallness. There’s excellent science communication about microscopic things, there’s illustrated scenes to provoke wonder and awe and there’s plenty of just a regular tabby shitting in a litter box. Sarah Firth is startlingly candid in her storytelling - we see glimpses of addiction, a complicated upbringing and being slut shamed in high school. But despite often portraying herself naked, she never seems vulnerable. Instead, she’s highly attuned to life, the universe and everything. What an extraordinary book from a highly unusual brain. I am sure I’ll consult it from time to time, like an atlas. It’s hard to explain precisely what this book even is. But I’m glad I finally have a copy just as I’m glad I went to college with Sarah many years ago.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the art more than the philosophy which was more other people’s insights. A fine book, but nothing new.

[Kate Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED WHEN I NEEDED IT. LIKE A LOVELY ACID TRIP where you feel grounded and more connected than before.

i laughed a lot. alot.alot.

The actual art style is very different and fun! I am however not a fan of handwriting in comics (even though I handwrite all of mine so I'm a hypocrite) I just found Sarahs hard to read sometimes. This is minor though.

I related to so much of this book. Honestly it felt like me. The creativity is just gorgeous, taking bog ugly concepts like capitalism and economics and breaking them down into digestible, sometimes fun pieces.

I WANT MORE HYPE FOR THIS.

When she talks about enjoying time with her pet then spiralling at the thought of them dying, rehearsing loss rather than being in the present. Ive literally done this so many times and had no idea other people do it. Whats up with this?

On JOY:
" When I see people in their joy its a wink for me to shine too, so why does it feel so precarious"? "maybe that's the paradox of joy, its both/and. like how tiny birds are so delicate andfleeting yet they can survive big stroms that snap big trees. Joy has a curious resilience. Still it is exposing!

- some people equate joyfulness with pride or showing off and worry it will attract envy, resentment and misfortune. Then she drops that delicious Brene Brown quote with a visual of her that I want to compare to jesus coming down from the sky "when we feel joy, it is a place of incredible vulnerability. its beauty and fragility and deep gratitude and impermanence all wrapped up in one".

- "Being taken seriously means missing out on the chance to be frivolous, promiscuous and irrelevant" - Jack Halberstam.

- "Sometimes you do need to fuck around and find out. To indulge curiosity, take detours, follow whims and inklings because things arent always what you imagine and failure can be fertile"

- I loved the pages on what different sexual lovers enjoyed like:
- the one turned on by parks and picnics
- the cute boy who liked sexy wrestling
- the girlfriend who liked to cry and cum to jeff buckley
- The girl who liked the steam in the shower when having sex cause they liked pretending they were in the jungle.
- the boyfriend who got excited by us drawing all over each other
"fucking around, i found out that people sure do like a lot of different stuff" "What about me? did i get off on other people getting off, did i get off on being an object of desire?" - very relatable

"Sex energy and creative energy are parts of the same life force" - Betty Dodson

OMG the drawing of sarah exploring the thrill of a shared fantasy and she replies with a full 8 hrs of undisturbed sleep! IM LAUGHING

"All my sexy exploring also uncovered a bigger longing, for deeper intimacy, sensuality and play in my platonic relationships. Im not sure why sexual relationships have felt so much easier than non-sexual ones" Then she talks about being neurodivergent and being in her head. I FEEL THIS WHOLE PARAGRAPH DEEPLY. I FEEL SO SEEN. Casual sexual partners can be so easy but deep friendships seem so much harder for me.

- I loved the way she documents her house before it gets bulldozed. Taking videos of the roar of the toilet, videos of light switches. I wonder how I would document my child hood home?

- Also the section on when shes not feeling emotionally attached she finds decomposition fascinating. Love the scenes of composting. I too, get immense satisfaction from composting and watching it decompose.
"Our bodies and so much of the world are make up of sophisticated spirals (finger prints, muscles, ferns) loops and cycles. there is so much strength, beauty and resilience everywhere".

"Its easy to take the invisible stuff that makes life possible for granted. like MAGMA. Without it we'd have no magnetic fields to keep the atmosphere together". Think about that!!

"I find it empowering to remember that so much of what we think is normal is actually just invented" "which means it can be reimagines and remade". "change comes from all different people, groups and places (hi earthworms!)

On cognitive shortcuts
"the raw data of life is too huge and way beyond our limited sensory capacity, so we literally cant absorb reality as objective, rational observers" Our brain is shaping us in bias ways moment by moment. "What feels like reality is more like an internal simulation".
"We are all in our own different worlds, seeing and not seeing. and yet we weave together, sharing lives and spaces". If you cut the corpus callosum fibre in the brain so separating the hemispheres, two different consciouses will emerge, with different skills, temperaments, beliefs and interests WTF.

- So who am I? I love that she critiques how weird it is to say just be yourself, maybe even if we arent our true selves, our bodies are just how we get around.

Finally i was obsessed with the art on trying to do the damn chores, convincing yourself its a sexy sadomasochistic game (picture of her with envelope in mouth "to the post office" and her task self character says "hurts so good right" AHHH GENIUS.

[Pistachiopunk · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Joyous musings on the meaningful and the mundane for troubled times” indeed. This book is a effervescent reminder to wonder at the gift of life, a gift which we can’t keep forever.

[Jesse Graczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

V. Thought provoking, loved it so much.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the first half of this book I was really on board with a 5 star review. It lowered as I continued because the "what ifs" and neverending hypothetical questions got a little repetitive for me, leading me to notice the overall narrative in the book is just the constant recognition of life's nuances. This isn't a bad thing, but often it seemed like not much was actually being said, and I didn't really read anything I haven't come to terms with in life already. That being said, there are still lots of positives in this book: the art is awesome: always vibrant, shifting from serious to fun often, not at all visually repetitive, and the frequent explanation of concepts with creative ties to the natural world was super engaging and well executed. Some stories blended together with the whole "how can I live life while staying balanced" concept, but that seems to be the point.

[Beatrice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so delightful. My first graphic novel and I absolutely loved the medium, pictures are the language of my brain, why haven't I been reading graphic novels this whole time?! Can't imagine they're all as good as this one though. It's like a little peep into the mind of a friend you love. Thoughtful, sweet, funny. Really restored some thing in me. I had that sensation reading it, that's like, I'm trying desperately to savour it but I could also have just blown through the whole thing in one go. This one is so nuanced but heartwarming I'm thinking of using it with clients in art therapy. Thank you Sarah Firth :-)

[Jack Magner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A graphic novel that compiles eight essays of different aspects of existence in the 21st century. Phones and technology, desire, and identity are all covered by Firth in this interesting and beautifully crafted work. I don’t think this is one that will look to become an international classic in the field, but I liked the Australian setting and modern relevance.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked Sarah Firth's mind and where it goes. It is intellectual, while being funny and wandering while being thoughtful. It's interesting and fun to spend time in uncertainty, but interconnectedness, life/death, memory/mortality, the phone sucking our attention out, how weird life is, biology and the natural world. I was charmed, engaged, entertained and made to think

[Kayla Zabcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

87%

I know I literally just DNF'd a book because I said I wasn't looking for something super introspective right now, but this one hit just right and didn't feel like a chore to read; maybe Firth's introspective thoughts just line up with mine right now. She put thoughts and feelings I've had into words that really stuck with me, giving me pause to appreciate the feeling of being seen and understood.

Something I particularly enjoyed about this graphic novel was her use of space: the way she styled her pages definitely goes outside the borders of how graphic novels typically convey information, and while the art itself wasn't anything spectacular, her formatting and creativity fascinated me.

Another thing I appreciated: this narrative is, as the title suggests, essentially about how everything in the world connects - that we live in an intertangled web, as opposed to a linear landscape. So the fact that she pulled in quotes from other authors, scientists, philosophers felt like a particularly enlightened move on her part; she could've just focused on her life and her views, but by pulling in other people, she's further bolstering her message.

"Why am I like this? Rehearsing loss rather than being here now?"

"Seemingly enviable situations come with some form of crap that you just have to deal with."

"How can I learn to enjoy the repetitions? What are ways I can turn routine into ritual? Way to re-enchant the weary? To engage with more love and curiosity? To see with new eyes? To alchemize the shit into gold?"

"Is social media now the modern-day campfire?"

"But as the world and the broader internet paradigms and landscapes continue to shift, break and mutate what has been meaningful online is now increasingly overshadowed by noise, surveillance, bullshit and commercialization. What was once a public park has morphed into a casino with a bloody gladiatorial pit."

"I know better, but don't always do better. Which makes me wonder about my own attraction to gorging on junk and feeling awful about myself and the world. Does it somehow serve to justify my latent anxiety? I it the same sick thrill I'd get as a kid, hitting up all-you-can-eat buffets with my pals? Ignore the boring salad bar, go straight for the junk food delights!"

"This desire to keep things, even difficult, messy things, to capture and hold feels so instinctive, yet odd. I think of how this manifests in the way I document life. I take so many photos and videos. Along with sketching, note-taking and collecting mundane life detritus. For me it's a ritual, it's part of my creative practice and a key way in which I savor, process and remember. It feels like an attentive, curious and collaborative way to dance with life, by shaping raw experience and sensations into something. And sharing these somethings with people makes it all feel very alive."

"Life's already too much work! It's nice to have assumptions and heuristics to minimize the decision fatigue! Without mental models of how and why things are, and what to expect...without knowledge of what's 'normal', 'good' and 'dangerous'....what I like and dislike....and where boundaries begin and end....I'd be in full beginner's mind with no filter for what is relevant. A big, open, distractible, psychedelic baby."

"My mental maps of the world are not the real terrain."

[James Whitmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of graphic essays begins in monochrome, which the narrator's cat coming to her in the middle of the night. His "black paw beans stick to my person palm" and they merge, then dissemble, prompting Sarah to consider existential questions around labour and purpose. A "cat bickie" chart reveals three-quarters of her time is spent doing mundane stuff, an eighth fun stuff, an eight shit stuff; not the proportions she wishes to be living, and begins a search for better living. Read more on my blog

[little free lib-rei-ry (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah Firth is foremost a wordsmith. I often struggle with overly introspective/existentialist texts, because rather than reading them with objectivity, it spirals me into a cynical, fatalist sort of mentality. Firth's writings never once made me question "What's the point?" Their easy art style made complex topics feel digestible and relatable, even if a particular essay subject was not something I've experienced. Overall, I love graphic memoirs like this, because the graphic component lends itself so well to the story without trivializing it. Were this a text-only manuscript, I think I would have enjoyed it less.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the diagrams. I never knew she was from Canberra but I recognised the bus stops. I feel like this is like having lots of different conversations with people without actually having people in front of me. She sees both sides of the coin and does not get hung up on one viewpoint. I like this. I particularly liked the section on whether or not to keep “stuff” as this is something I been going through. I think holiday breaks people usually find times to do jobs they don’t do the rest of the year and reading this section made me think about why we want to keep stuff. Great book!

[Azzamckazza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest, raw, thought provoking and playful. This book is a joyful gift of curiosity that gives us access to the wonderful mind of Sarah whilst encouraging us to see this strange experience of life in new ways. Gently prodding and playfully exploring 8 different aspects of life.

Cannot recommend this enough. It vibrates with life in all its messy, beautiful, confusing, contradictory, horny, paradoxical complexity.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book. Will definitively be revisiting it in the weeks/months/ years to come.

Ive never really been a huge fan of graphic novels but Sarah’s book has opened a new world for me.

I felt so incredible seen by this book as each essay not only gave words to the many thoughts that fester in my mind but also such striking, and even hilarious illustrations.

Highly recommended. Would make an amazing gift too!!

[Susannah Breslin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. It’s such an exciting mix of genres, prose and images, the political and the personal. I can’t recall having read a book quite like this. She fearlessly ranges from her sexual experiences to her politically ideologies and relentlessly sticks to the truth that any and all binary positions are false. I would hope some young adults get to read this book, as it serves as a timely, relevant guidepost for those figuring it out.

[Sarah Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful and weird illustrations carry what would otherwise be a very irritating and overwrought book. The deep thoughts with the other don't seem to lead anywhere and they are the weird existential thoughts we have all had, so there is nothing that feels particularly revelatory.

I was so intrigued when I flipped through the pages but then disappointed by the text to the point that I was skimming by the end. Incredibly talented artist.

[Seaton Kay-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book.

A real deep-dive into who we are and why. “Eventually Everything Connects” is whimsical, thought-provoking and funny.

I laughed out loud on numerous occasions at the poignant, relatable world the author creates, and absolutely loved the illustrations.

Stunning.

[Averil *rat emoji* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could read half a chapter at breakfast time with a cup of tea. Sometimes I would get a funny little story about seeing the world a new way, sometimes it was a journey into eco-anxiety and world collapse. Either way, a nice way to start the morning with art, the meaning of life, philosophy, love, and the horrors.

[Kauri McDonough · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful, thought-provoking graphic novel.

A great book for all. In particular I would recommend to millennials, neurodivergent people, those who appreciate nature and philosophy, and anyone who indulges in their day dreaming.

[Sabrina Rubenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an absolutely beautiful graphic novel. It articulated so many of my inner thoughts and emotions. I highly suggest this book to everyone and anyone who might feel overwhelmed with life and our current world. Can’t wait for Sarah to draw/write her next book!

[Patrick Boudreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and fun. Sarah weaves her life story through intricate webs that are at once personal and applicable to the greater human experience. At times funny, at times sexy, and always open to vast array of human experiences.

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personally revealing comic essays, uninhibited philosophical reflection and genitalia and cat butts, with a sophisticated depth of introspection on perception, action, and the complexity of the modern world.

[Daisy Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful read in so many ways. Not only was it a visual delight, but I was continuously delightfully surprised with the beautiful, subtle ways it brought me back to the theme of interconnection. A compelling and touching graphic novel.

[Hermine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fine messages and concepts to craft each essay around, although nothing new in terms of ideas I haven’t come across. While the illustrations added an extra element for the words, the art style also wasn’t for me.