Sleepless Planet: A Graphic Guide to Healing from Insomnia

by Maureen Burdock

An integrative guide to better sleep in a hyperactive world.

Insomnia is a sleep disorder that affects roughly one in four people in the industrialized world. Typical treatments are often ineffective and have undesirable side effects. For those of us yearning for a restful night’s sleep in a world that never stops turning, it’s hard to know how to find relief.

Part graphic nonfiction and part comics diary, this guide offers an insightful look at the science of sleep and the cultural forces contributing to the modern insomnia epidemic. In it, Maureen Burdock shares a deeply personal journey of navigating sleep disturbance from childhood through perimenopause. As she grapples with the physical, mental, and emotional toll of sleepless nights, Burdock explores a range of popular treatments―consulting sleep specialists and testing THC sleep aids, mouth taping, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Along the way, Burdock reveals how rewilding her life―through diet, meditation, education, and mindfulness―helped her find balance and ultimately reclaim her sleep.

With humor and vulnerability, Sleepless Planet invites readers to slow down, reconnect with themselves, and seek their own path to healing. Whether you’re a chronic insomniac or simply seeking better sleep, this book is a visually rich and empowering companion on the journey toward rest.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, Memoir

240 pages, Paperback

Published November 4, 2025

Reviews

[Cheryl Klein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous, fanciful illustrations and a lot of humor provide a lively backdrop for Burdock's holistic, global take on the science, history, and spirituality of sleep. On one hand, she inspires me to want to eat better and maybe even meditate, and promises me that the stress and trauma that make me an anxious exposed nerve of a human isn't my fault—it's part of a capitalistic culture that wants people to buy more fast food, drink more coffee, and produce more widgets. On the other hand, it made me feel like quite a fuck-up (even though I don't struggle too much with insomnia, I DO struggle with the carbs that are apparently ruining my life). What I like most is the lines she draws between personal health and climate change, industrialization, slavery, and food systems. A nice reminder that you can be crunchy in an evidence-based save-the-earth way, not a hateful, science denying MAHA way.

[lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many of the pictures in this book were gorgeous. Several I would be willing to buy as standalone prints. The story itself is interesting, but only in the context of this particular person. Having never had much of an issue with insomnia myself, I was fascinated by the author's journey into learning more about it, and how to heal herself. Over the course of several years she manages to find what works best for her, emphasis on FOR HER. I very much doubt many of these things would work for anyone else. She learns to deep breathe by teaching herself the digeredoo, adjusts her diet to include fat OMG, weans herself off caffeine and alcohol, finds a routine, and manages finally to find consistent rest. I sincerely wish everyone had the time and the money to be able to spend on their own health endeavors. The author is very, very critical of big pharma that only wants you take drugs to feel better, and of big sugar that wants to demonize fat consumption, and big agriculture that only wants to grow unhealthy food. I actually agree with her on the big points of this, but her takes are very surface level, very clearly biased, and simply don't account for our current population, or the state of healthcare in this country. Many of her arguments dip their toes into the MAHA movement (I'm sure she was delighted with the new dietary guidelines) which I think she tries to save by going out of her way to talk about how we should respect the Native people and their wisdom. Some of that respect could be going into giving land back to Native nations so they can hunt and fish, and grow food the way they used to. But I would imagine this earnest, MAHA adjacent white woman would want to butt her way into our processes and insist that we teach her how to hunt and grow food "the right way," which she would think would only be fair since she worked to get us our land back.

Despite my annoyances of this well-meaning but clueless white woman, I thought what she did was the right thing for her, and seemed to work well for her circumstances. I would never suggest anyone would follow any of these practices, but they are interesting enough to dig into your own research, and see if something works for you. I'm glad she is sleeping well after a lifetime of not, and so many of these illustrations really capture the feeling she was going for, somewhat similar to Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this graphic novel fascinating, but also overwhelming in both the amount of information presented and the degree of lifestyle change suggested. I'm so glad for the author that she has found a way to make those changes and to find better sleep as a result, but I cannot imagine successfully changing my own life so drastically. I am motivated to try some small changes and perhaps if I am successful in those, I will be able to make even more changes. Time will tell.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nonfiction graphic novel that looks at the cost of a good night sleep. Full of information and a whimsical art style that befits a book that would hopefully grants its readers entrance to a world of dreams (or at least beneficial REM sleep).

[Margaret Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very personal journey told with remarkable drawings and information.