Babe in the Woods: or, The Art of Getting Lost

by Julie Heffernan

One summer day, a young artist with a newborn—sleep-deprived, desperate to escape her hot, cramped apartment and her oblivious husband—sets off on a hike in the country with her baby boy, Sam, strapped to her front and her senses fully attuned to the colors, the sounds, and the flora and fauna in the woods around her. During her journey, Julie reflects on her childhood, her parents, her marriage, and her path to becoming a painter. Her memories soon merge with the imaginative pictorial worlds she invents in her work, creating a glorious and perturbing narrative. When Julie suddenly realizes that they are lost, with few supplies, as darkness begins to set in, she must come to terms with the sudden gravity of her situation and invent tools for coping. She then discovers her own  snacking on wild garlic and fixing a torn shoe; tucking herself and her baby into a cave for the night; climbing a tall tree for a better vantage point. Each step in the unknown terrain of the forest leads her deeper into a reckoning with survival and unresolved past issues. She invokes the struggles of painters like Artemesia Gentileschi, women’s strength in Rubens’ Rape of the Daughters of Leucippus, and the plights of activists like Julia Butterfly Hill, illuminating how great art can be a vehicle for perspective—how it teaches us how to see, think, and navigate obstacles and wonders and find one's way out into a capacious and self-determined life. Beautifully told and illustrated by an established fine painter whose work has been collected around the world, Julie Heffernan's Babe in the Woods is an extraordinary journey of memory, remorse, and rebirth, and a powerful lesson in trust in one's self, offering a new way of seeing for anyone who feels lost in the world.

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

240 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2024

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got off to a rough start with this autofiction graphic novel. The narrative flow is chaotic and frustrating, and the sheer number of words and their rambling, near-free associating quality gave the narration an off-kilter yammering tone that would be worrisome and concerning if you received them in a letter from a friend or family member. The pictures are very pretty, but the word balloons are pure static disrupting the imagery.

Frankly, my favorite parts of the book were when the author stopped talking about herself and paused to analyze classical paintings by other artists. She tried to make them about herself, sure, but still managed to convey some fascinating information about the art and the artists who made them. She also shoehorns in her own paintings, which are mostly semi-nude self-portraits of her standing in bizarre floral-heavy fantasy worlds. I wouldn't mind flipping through a coffee table book of her work without all the word balloons in the way, though the repetitive nature might wear on me and the multitude of tiny details often makes me feel like I'm playing the board game Scrutineyes.

I hate read the first half but came to terms with what Heffernan was doing and though I don't like it, my rage abated. It's apt that Emil Ferris is a blurber on the back cover, because this book reminds me of her My Favorite Thing Is Monsters, Vol. 1 where individual interesting images are stitched together with a flood of words that can't quite manage to bring life to the resulting Frankenstein.


(Best of 2024 Project: I'm reading all the graphic novels that made it onto one or more of these lists:
• Washington Post 10 Best Graphic Novels of 2024
• Publishers Weekly 2024 Graphic Novel Critics Poll
• NPR's Books We Love 2024: Favorite Comics and Graphic Novels

This book made the PW list.)

[Hannah Garden]

Okay this is a really interesting and personal work but I am not paying the kind of attention I'd need to in order to really be into it, and so I must move on. I read about the first 50% and then lost my place this afternoon trying to take a nap, flipped around a bit looking for it, flipped ahead, read the ending, flipped back, flipped through the part I'd read, read the end again . . . so I can't say I've read this book, properly, but I have spent my time with it for today. Back into circulation for you, you beauty.

[Elizabeth A · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic memoir (auto fiction) is thought provoking and beautifully illustrated. A wonderful exploration of inner and outer selves, feminism, art and motherhood.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

From a netgalley ARC.

Not sure what this will look like in a physical form. But in a digital form this is gorgeous. But also a bit confusing. It reads like a memoir and it is not absolutely clear if it is a memoir or not fully fictional. The book is clearly set in a specific time and place.

The coloring is stunning. The lettering is beautiful but still readable. The story reads a bit like a horror story, though the hint is that it ends fine. The plot goes a bit off the rails is it backtracks into flashbacks and art history. And then it ends abruptly on page 82 with a message that says - can't wait to share more, send us an email.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Babe in the Woods is a graphic novel and work of autofiction that captures the vulnerability and fever dream-like state of post-partum depression.

A woman escapes the city heat and strained relationship with her husband by driving to and hiking in the mountains with her infant son. Struggling with the fresh grief of losing her parents, a stalled art career, and the various life traumas drummed up by becoming a mother—she gets lost in the woods, completely unprepared. Frankly and deeply negligent. What ensues is a tale of survival and mental fortitude immersed in the surreal inspiration that flows through her from the natural world. We watch as she cycles through artistic and personal reference points, gathering strength in unexpected places. The stories she tells her son to keep the quiet filled and him calm, feel on the brink of breakdown. Juxtaposed with Heffernan’s absurd and surreal paintings, it feels at once deeply concerning and vividly inspired. The tension of what she might do next; how she might put her son in harm’s way; what we might discover about her own past; what could go wrong, keeps a fear and dread thrumming below the surface.

A really compelling work of artistic inspiration, education, and tension.

[Allen Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mother of an infant goes on a hike through the woods to get away from her personal troubles (marriage problems, death of a parent). What follows is a stream of consciousness style narration that shows the main character’s memories and life experiences, especially during childhood. There’s topics of religion, sexual experimentation, puberty, power and authority, artwork, grief, motherhood. A beautiful art style that goes from muted colors of memories to vibrant colors of imagination. There’s also small parts of historical artwork analysis, which I really loved. This feels deeply personal and reminds me of the graphic novel My Favorite Thing is Monsters in how it is so detailed and jumps from topic to topic but still touches on universal experiences and truths.

I received an advance copy through NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review.

[Chris Brook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was mentioned in BookPage's list of best graphic novels and nonfiction of 2024. Wasn't on my radar so I picked it up. Not sure how to even describe this. Auto-fiction/memoir of sorts done as a graphic novel. A woman takes her baby on a walk in the woods... but it's so much more. A whole lot to process, not sure I even got it all, but was very impressed with the scale of this thing.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of artwork was beautiful and fascinating, but overall the graphic novel was confusing and repetitive. I skimmed a lot of pages. I agree with the person who said the art analysis was the best part.

[Anisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got really busy in the middle so I did skim through the rest. The art is very beautiful and different. I like the ending. Good job Julie.

[Lisa]

I felt like this was well done and really not for me - I ended up not being able to fully read it and sort of flipped through the end, upon which I realized it was almost like being in a nightmare (for me. I'm sure other readers will have a very different experience). I happened to read "Raised by Ghosts" at the same time, which was another book that I think was good and was really not for me. I guess girls/women reflecting on their terribly bleak childhoods is not my favorite genre! But there's a lot more in this book, too.

[Becca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Favourite parts were when she broke down classic paintings and interpreted the meaning/symbolism behind them. Everything else seemed moot in comparison. Especially hiking into the middle of the woods with a newborn baby. The entire story could have been told sans baby and it wouldn't have made a difference to me. Lots of wordy wordless words, but.. I enjoyed the art, and related to a few of the artist thoughts.

[Shayla Behling-Graf · Rating 3 out of 5]

the good: the art in this book is magnificent, which tbh is maybe one of the most important things in a graphic novel
the bad: oooh boy desperately trying to follow the authors train of thought was an energy suck for SURE. plus maybe it was just me but I was low key worried for the baby in this book the entire time since the main character seemed erratic at best, severely mentally ill at worst and it didnt seem too far fetched for her to just leave him behind?

[Mike Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

An introspective story of a young mother reflecting on her life

Babe in the Woods, by Julie Heffernan, is a graphic novel that tells the story of Julie, a young mother, who takes Sam, her 4-month-old son, on an adventure through the wilds of upstate New York.

Julie Heffernan, the author, is a well-known artist and drew the illustrations in the book.

Julie and Jonathon, her husband, live in a small apartment in Brooklyn. It is the hottest part of summer, Jonathon is a writer working on finishing his next book, and Julie is bored. She decides to go on a hike, picks up Sam, tells Jonathon she is going up to the cabin in the Taconic mountains and will be back in a week; however, she stops at a trailhead and decides to take a hike.

With Sam strapped to her stomach Julie’s thoughts begin to drift as she hikes along the trail. She reflects on all of the important evets in her life including: her upbringing in a religious Catholic family in Peoria, IL; her curiosity in the world around her; her first boyfriend; moving to Europe with Chris, her adult boyfriend; being introduced to classic and provocative literature that she was not allowed to read at home; finding Johathon in West Germany and marrying him; going to college and earning her degree in art; and the deaths of first her father and then her mother.

While her mind is focused on reconciling her past Julie become lost in the wilderness and finally becomes aware of her predicament when she realizes they will have to spend the night in the wild.

The story is full throughout with Heffernan’s illustrations, all of them beautiful and very complex.

Some other reviews found the story wandered too much; I thought the story accurately portrayed how a person confused, frustrated and bored by their life would reflect on the moments in their life while just going for a walk.

I would recommend this book for anyone looking into how moments in our lives mold us into who we are.

4/5 stars

[Kerry Pickens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well… this is an unusual book by a very talented artist Julie Hefferman. It’s in graphic novel form, and starts off when a young mother decides to go stay in a cabin with her baby and then gets lost hiking. During the hike she recalls memories from her childhood and her struggling marriage. She is stressed because both her mother and her mother in law recently passed away, and there is no support system to help the two grieving young parents cope with learning to be parents themselves. The young woman also includes details describing the meaning of artwork by famous painters, her own imagination, and arguments in her head that add to her stress level. I relate to the authors enjoyment of hiking, art appreciation and her respect for Rebecca Solnit’s writing. The book is a lot to process so I would suggest getting a hard copy and looking through the artwork and then going back and reading the author’s comments. The weird thing was there was a recommendation on the back of the book from film director David O. Russell, the guy famous for screaming at Lily Tomlin on a film set. This book was written from a woman’s perspective on life so why do we that abusive jerk’s opinion. I am just trying to collaborate here!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me a while to finish, but the journey was gorgeous, thought-provoking, and raw. The first half of the novel was harder to get through: dense with detailed memories, difficult conversations, and unresolved epiphanies. The second half was more exhilarating, putting you in the perspective of panic, last minute strategizing, and life changing realizations.

Although I often felt like there might have been too much going on within each page (text and imagery alike), it simply took me time to realize the nature of the author/illustrator's storytelling techniques. I could've spent a lot more time with this story, analyzing and appreciating hidden details - though a bit overwhelming upon first glance, it's a truly impressive and beautiful quality. You come to understand the artist's "other worlds" more and more the more attention you give these details.

I also really enjoyed the breakdown of different works of art throughout. It's clear that these analyses come from a well trained eye and I appreciate how their interpretation often challenges the perspective of our heteronormative way of thinking.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I requested this book from the library, I thought it was a graphic novel, and as I read it I wasn't sure what it was, but as I finished it, I saw the term "autofiction" on the back cover, a combination of autobiography with fictional elements. Even then, that term is not enough to describe it.

I thought of the term fever dream, but looking it up, that term gas more negative connotations. It is a negative negative situation that the author/artist finds herself in, hiking in the woods for the day with her baby and realizing she is hopelessly lost.

But this book is even more, with colorful artwork as you would expect in a graphic novel, interspersed with the artist's Renaissance type paintings and works by other artists with explanations of what makes that work significant and what we can learn about them, and ourselves. The book also covers some pretty troubling family history/autobiography.

The art... the detail is amazing and like a trip to the museum where you know you can't see everything in their collections in a lifetime of visits, I know I will have to revisit it to catch more of details I've missed today.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know what I was expecting from this book but it had so much. It's about a woman going on a hike with her baby, and the next thing you know they got lost. This is so much less about a story of survival, but more on the the things you think about when you get lost.

It felt like an autobiography but it was mentioned as an "autofiction." It was as if the artist/author just let you in, not just in her brain, but in her deepest self. It was a journey from her childhood, relationships, sexuality, finding her value, and her art.

Here's the thing, I read for entertainment. And I just know this graphic novel would like to tell me something. And I think it went through my head. This really feels more a literature piece than just a book for reading.

If anything, I gained appreciation and I learned a lot about how to look at painting pieces. How structure, balance, and sections can show so much about the paintings. Like the paintings included in this autofiction, you need to read this book beyond how it presents itself.

This was definitely such a ride. It felt like I gained something from reading this.

* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

[TammyJo Eckhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must confess that I have not heard of artist Julie Heffernan, but now that I've finished this book, I want to see more of her work. The book is called an "auto fiction" and it is in graphic novel format (sort of). I don't know how much of what the main character, Julie, is a reflection of the artist. Does that really matter when what the mother lost in the woods with her infant son has feelings and memories she's working through that sadly many women may be able to understand.

It takes time to get through this because much of the dialogue and the images are stream conscious which can be a challenge to follow. It is the pages filled with gray scale and vividly colored scenery and recreations of other artists' paintings and Heffernan's own work that is truly engaging. While we follow the 'babe in the woods,' both infant and woman, we also learn about art itself and how looking deeper and learning more can enhance the wonder you feel when you engage with it.

[Stephanie (aka WW) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one gorgeous graphic novel. The story is interesting, especially that which weaves in famous artwork and the author’s intricate paintings, but I was left a little wanting as far as overall plot is concerned. The book comes off as a piecing together of individual remembrances from the author’s life and, while some of these are interesting, few actually surprise. The overall plot is that a new mother sets off on a day-hike carrying her infant in a front carrier and a backpack on her back. While she reaches the top of the mountain successfully, she gets lost on her way back and has to end up spending the night in the outdoors. The individual remembrances come along the way as she alternately talks and sings to her baby. While I thought the story was lacking a little, the artwork has no faults. The paintings and drawings are gorgeous and justify the purchase of this book by themselves. If you like the cover, you’ll like the book. Beautiful.

[The Lizard]

I never write reviews. And this one isn't a review of the content of the book at all--no reflection whatsoever on the creator. But good God, the printing of this book needs to be called out.

Algonquin doesn't appear to publish many graphic novels, and it shows. This book was clearly printed at a larger trim size than the author intended, resulting in blown-up, muddy, pixelated artwork. The fine detail is totally destroyed.

Not only that, but in order to cheat the larger size, it looks like the publisher decided to include the bleed on every page. As in, the artwork on the edges of the page that's intended to be cropped off in the final book. There's a noticeable, perfectly straight, unfinished gutter around nearly every page.

This isn't a problem caused by the printer, it's a problem with the files sent to the printer by the publisher. And it's a damn shame, because the book would have been beautiful if it had been printed well. The author deserved better.

[K.C. Norton]

I have no idea how to rate this. It’s extremely strange and beautiful, it covers a lot of ground, and I often had little to no idea what the point of certain sections was.

Something I loved about this was how she talked about art, and the role of art, on making sense of ideas and issues she’d either never been exposed to or been able to discuss. At the same time, I got the impression that the author-slash-main-character was/is still hemmed in and sheltered in many ways. Maybe sheltered isn’t the right word, all things considered, but that her worldview as described here remains constrained. Maybe this is by design, since she wrote this book many years after the events described herein.

The art was spectacular and made me want to find more of her work, but this work is so personal and all over the place that I find it hard to rate, and I’m mot sure who I’d recommend it to. It’s certainly striking and unlike anything I’ve read before.

[BreAnna (Bre'sBooks) · Rating 2 out of 5]

**ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review**

Babe in the Woods: or, The Art of Getting Lost by Julie Heffernan was an artsy, stream-of-consciousness feeling memoir about family, loss, and appreciating nature. Sadly, I can't say I enjoyed it after stopping halfway through; it just wasn't the book for me. The color palette was interesting, but the writing was somewhat difficult to read, and it was mostly a sad, depressing memoir that I wasn't expecting from the plot description and I didn't want to be reading about. This book probably should also have trigger warnings included as well. I do appreciate all the hard work and courage that must've gone into making and telling this story though.

[DollarBin ComicWin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Babe in the Woods is a luminous, raw journey into motherhood, memory, and the wild terrain of self. Heffernan transforms what begins as a simple summer hike with her newborn into a textured autofictional odyssey; at once beautiful, harrowing, and deeply intimate. The forest becomes a stage and a mirror: Julie’s past traumas, religious upbringing, shame, and artistic doubts all weave through the foliage and dusk. And even as she is physically lost, with few supplies and darkness looming, her inner world—her art, her memories, her longing for connection—shines. The paintings and visual flourishes are sumptuous, almost overwhelming at times, but they serve the emotional heart: survival, self-reclamation, and learning to get lost to find what matters.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art in this is absolutely gorgeous- if nothing else, I'm so delighted to have been introduced to this amazing artist. And I love that she is an art professor and breaks down classic paintings throughout- gave me some fond Art History memories (Shoutout Professor Julia DeLancey!) The story is layered- memories mixed with the present; reflections on family, trauma, art, and herself are throughout the book. While the "story" is her getting lost in the woods with her baby, it's really much more than that- and offers alot for the reader to delve into. Some of the text's layout was a little confusing for me to track, and I'm not sure it was always on purpose, but overall- a solid work.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Painter Julie Heffernan's GORGEOUS graphic novel follows a mother and her newborn son as they get lost overnight during a nature hike. A time-hopping work of autofiction that explores a messy childhood and its enduring effect and delves deep into the intricacies of the natural world and the resourcefulness required to survive, it's a stunningly-realized narrative feat. Major shades of Alison Bechdel, here.

[Rick Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dense, lush, poignant. Heffernan's rambling as she escorts us through her paintings, with several streams of thought twisting through the pages, is complex yet clear. The visual confusion adds to the sense of stream of consciousness, and the growth of the character as we reach the end is satisfying. I'm pretty sure you could read this multiple times and come away different each time. A good start to 2026.

[Kate Meberg]

I found the art cluttered, and the text confusing. I’m not trying to tank this artist’s numbers here, so I’m not leaving a rating. I think if you are into a maximalist approach to a graphic memoir this might be your jam, it wasn’t mine.
I will say I did like the “Revelations” sprinkled throughout. I always appreciate a good interpretation/critique of others artwork.

[Peter Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this graphic novel Julie Heffernan gets lost in the woods with her baby son. This event leads her to exploring her childhood and early adulthood and also includes some analysis of Old Masters paintings. The book has many of Heffernan’s paintings as well. She was born in 1956 so we are the same age. Some of the details of her childhood are very familiar.

[Jaylynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it's a memoir, but it's so grand that I’m not sure. I absolutely loved the artwork, it's certainly the most beautiful graphic novel I've ever seen in my life. I also loved the parts where she displayed a famous piece of art and explained some of the art theory behind it. Opened my eyes to the significance of little details. Would be a book I'd like to own one day.

[Jendle · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of a kind! Amazing visual art and storytelling. Painfully raw and honest. The artist has done the work to understand her brain. Terrifying work. Part of me wants to ignore this book and pretend it doesn't exist, and the other part of me wants to read it over and over again to dissect it. It's like lifting a veil to a world that's always been there. Beautiful. Brave.