Brittle Joints

by Maria Sweeney

An evocative and heartfelt graphic memoir about the challenges of living with a progressive disability.
When Maria Sweeney was young, she kept count of her broken bones. As she grew older, she living with Bruck syndrome, a rare progressive condition that gives her very brittle bones and joint abnormalities, meant that those numbers climbed and climbed.
Today, she struggles every day, living in an often-inaccessible world. As an ambulatory wheelchair user, ordinary actions like entering a building, sitting at a café, or holding a cup of tea can be drastically different for her than for others.
With lush illustrations, Maria tells the story of her lifelong struggle to obtain care in an increasingly complicated and disinterested US healthcare system. But for every step that presents a struggle, there's also beauty, friendship, art, and growth. She documents the relief she's found in alternative therapies, particularly medical marijuana; in loving community and chosen family; and in nature and her creative practice. A powerfully understated critique of our modern world, Brittle Joints offers a generous, expansive look at how to live and love amidst the challenges of survival.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Disability, Memoir, Nonfiction, Comics, Adult, Biography Memoir

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 25, 2024

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be honest, I was interested in reading Brittle Joints before I even knew what it was about because the cover is absolutely stunning. A woman in a wheelchair, smoking, surrounded by beautiful foliage? It's gorgeous. Learning that it's a graphic memoir written by a woman with Bruck syndrome guaranteed I would read this though. I don't have Bruck syndrome, but I'm disabled and deal with chronic muscle and joint pain (ankylosing spondylitis and fibromyalgia are two of my main issues). I'm constantly interested in stories about disabled people that are by disabled people, stories that actually reflect our realities and aren't intended to serve as inspiration porn or trauma porn. This book more than delivered.

This short graphic memoir is broken up into chapters that reflect different aspects of Sweeney's life. Some of them go back to her childhood or early adult years, where others are more recent. Some of them deal with coping with her symptoms and the grief that comes with your body changing in ways that can be painful and upsetting. Some of them are about dealing with a medical system that is really not set up to help people at all, and certainly not to help people with complex medical situations. Some of them are about dealing with casual ableism from everyone from strangers to medical professionals. And some of them are about how important an understanding support system can be to your physical and mental wellbeing.

Brittle Joints is an incredibly relatable book. I may not share her condition, but we have many similar struggles, and I felt so seen reading this. Dealing with chronic pain, flares that mean different levels of assistive devices are needed, consuming weed regularly as an alternative to opiates, the cruelty and absurdity of randoms commenting on your real lived experiences. I also deal with occasional pain and numbness as a result of ulnar nerve issues. Honestly, the relatability was overwhelming and surprising because, again, I have completely different diagnoses. I felt so seen by this though.

It also serves as a great introduction to Bruck syndrome, and a lot of the medical issues she faces and procedures she has done. It's very informative in that regard.

Sweeney also touches on her experience as an international adoptee, born in Moldova and adopted by USAmerican parents.

The interior art is as gorgeous as the cover art honestly. The floral designs especially are stunning, and I love the detail included on the cane and wheelchair, something I feel like we don't usually get as much detail on in comics.

This is a must read for my fellow chronically ill and disabled peeps. It made me feel a part of a larger disability community and experience. Physically healthy people would probably do well to read this one too, to get a look at a lot of what disabled people have to deal with from society, as well as a personalised look into the experience of what complex and rare medical conditions can do to your body.

[Christina Crise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I pre-ordered this book because my four year old has Bruck Syndrome. I wanted to hear from an adult with Bruck Syndrome what it was like growing up with the condition and how they are navigating adulthood with it. I've been following Maria on Instagram for a couple of years now and her art is excellent. I'm happy to have such a large collection of it. This book helped give me a realistic though still beautiful view of what challenges my son will face as he hopefully seeks to live independently from us as an adult. It also paints a clear picture of how much further we as a society have to go in order to be truly accessible.

[Peacegal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible and gorgeous illustrations tell us the story of a young woman with a rare syndrome that causes chronic pain and disability. BRITTLE JOINTS is an important look into the everyday life of a person with a disability--both the bad and the good. It is also an important lesson for non-disabled individuals to check their behavior and privilege--and a wake-up call about how unfriendly our cities, structures, and general society are for those with compromised mobility.

[Elizabeth A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blurb: A graphic memoir about the challenges of living with a progressive disability.

Beautifully illustrated and thought provoking.

[Hari Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of stuff I wish everyone without longterm pain and physical limitations understood.

A lot of the everyday elements were very resonant for me - the difficulties forcing every step between rest places in public, on top of navigating barriers and people’s reactions eg to ambulatory wheelchair use. Or just the misery of every dehumanising comment and inaccessible element of a hospital visit, while everything is physically such a painful struggle and sensory nightmare.

But whether or not you’ve experienced any of the specifics here yourself, they’re so telling in a broader sense - the parts I don’t relate to myself all feel vital and vulnerable, and particularly vivid and real through comics. The medium gets so much depth of experience across in a way few others could - I’d really recommend to anyone.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a newfound perspective of how living with a chronic disability can influence one’s perception of time and relationship with nature. This really struck and moved me. I also appreciated Maria sharing her experiences with grief and identity through the lens of/interplay with her disability. This memoir also served as a painful reminder of how those who are trained to support disabled people fail them again and again.
I found many artistic and story pacing choices to be evocative of the experience of being disabled. Just beautifully done and illustrated.

[cardulelia carduelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A first hand account of finding moments of warmth in your life.

I adored this memoir from, what I've just learnt, is a local author. The art is gorgeous, each panel lovingly rendered in a sketchy style which gives the piece a lot of movement. The coloring is also beautiful. Honestly, this is so easy on the eyes that sometimes I saw through the styling and was absorbed in the story - and I don't mean that as an insult. Sweeney has a real knack for hands, and the close-ups of the face in a way that makes some scenes seem... tangible? I could feel them through the page.

The memoir is also beautifully crafted, never lingering on one scene. We follow Sweeney as she recounts various episodes in her life: the first time an adult relieves her of the guilt for her health, a first date, pushing herself a little more than her body can handle, and a never-ending parade of stupid from various healthcare professionals.
I've had some experience with this - although nothing really comparable - over the past year with an ongoing nerve/muscular issue that no one can quite pin down. And everything she mentioned: the slights, the unprofessionalism, the mental load of keeping track of history and anxiety at not communicating it properly all ring true.

I really enjoyed this book and I hope Sweeney continues to publish in this format.

[Forever Young Adult]

Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: Into the Woods
BFF Charm: Yay
Swoonworthy Scale: 5
Talky Talk: Pain and Pleasure
Arty Art: Moody
Bonus Factor: Loyal Pet
Anti-Bonus Factor: The US Healthcare System
Relationship Status: Can I Hug You?

Read the full book report here.

[Ra 🌼 · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have a long way to go to make the world an accessible place! It was so well done, even though most people can’t relate to the authors struggles in some ways, she made it so you can relate to the baseline experiences of the world and nature, which makes it stick with you! As well as highlighting the many fuxked and dehumanising systems of healthcare etc The illustrations are so gooooood 🥹

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gorgeous graphic memoir of the disability experience. Maria Sweeney has a rare progressive condition called Bruck Syndrome. Her bones are brittle and break easily, and she's had numerous surgeries. She lives with chronic pain. This memoir is about what living in the world with constant pain and surgeries is like: the assumptions people make, the disregard medical professionals show, how hard it is to ask for help, the expenses.

Sweeney's illustrations are just stunning—rich and warm. I immediately thought, "I hope she illustrates children's books one day, too" and indeed she has! And I've already read it! The Scooter Twins is a delightful picture book. I also hope she writes/illustrates more graphic memoirs or graphic novels! Definitely want to check out all of her future work.

[Liberty Swedberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit clunky at times, but I loved the art so much. Graphic memoirs are 50% art and 50% story, but I think the amazing colors, shading, linework, and emotion captured made up for the lackluster plot at times. Overall, it was a good work and I would like to read more by the artist if she releases more like it!

[Noodle Hag · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully crafted from the crucial perspective of a disabled life in America

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Zofia Spiegel]

Honest, vulnerable, & raw. The illustrations were beautiful.

[Lexi Brannon-Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the art style! So different compared to other GN I’ve read.

[jude · Rating 4 out of 5]

great memoir, gorgeous art. very evocative.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graphic novel memoir about the authors life with a progressive, chronic illness. I like the little vignettes of her life - going in and out from childhood to college to adulthood. She did a fantastic job at capturing the mental anguish of a chronic health condition, the failing US healthcare system, and how you can feel both grief and joy simultaneously.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maria Sweeney’s graphic novel, Brittle Joints, is truly a must-read. It’s short, honest, and perfectly captures the reality of life with chronic pain. I think the author did a brilliant job conveying the everyday reality of chronic illness—the constant fatigue, the small negotiations, and the invisible tax on simple tasks like making a cup of tea. It successfully avoids melodrama and feels intensely real. The delicate art style perfectly suits the subject, making this a tender and essential read.

[Rummanah (Books in the Spotlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gorgeously illustrated and thought provoking graphic memoir about navigating an ableist society and a personal look into living with a disability. As someone who is able bodied I found it eye opening.

[Bill Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

 It'd be a shame if the only people who read Maria Sweeney's 2024 graphic memoir Brittle Joints were those in the disabled community of those close to people who are. Brittle Joints is as much an exploration into and explanation of that world as Art Spiegelman's Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History is of the holocaust. It's the best combination of text and illustration I've ever seen, but to be fair, I don't read a lot of graphic novels and I'm so old that the phrase still makes me think of "dirty books." You can tell, though, that Sweeney is a great writer, and if her disability ever made illustration impossible, she'd get by on her prose (or poetry).
 Joints is unflinching but never gross. You can sense the physical pain Sweeney feels as she copes with a rare condition called Bruck syndrome. But there are more dimensions to it than that; you can also feel her yearning to live among the normal and her joy when finding love and acceptance in a relationship.
 Possible bias on my part: Sweeney lives in the San Francisco Bay Area now but lived in Philadelphia, where she went to the Moore College of Art and Design, from which she graduated magna cum laude in 2016. I lived and worked in Philadelphia for twenty years and live near there now, and some of her illustrations are of areas I know well. She gets the look of the city right; it's depressing autumn colors and winter light. There's a sequence in which she and her boyfriend visit a bookstore I'd go to regularly and, by chance, went to just a week ago, that makes me want to go again today.
Excerpts from when she's with a romantic interest:

 The frigid wind causes my legs to stiffen as we exit into the bitter cold. I'm caught between conflicting feelings of heart-fluttering excitement and overwhelming pain.

 One foot at a time.

 Stand up straight.

 When he smiles at me, I forget my pain for a moment.

 The snow is falling and my cane is slipping on the ice beneath me. My heart is pounding in my ears. Ask for help. Ask for an arm.

 Being independent doesn't mean doing everything by yourself.

 It's about having choices about how things are done.

[Ben Leach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another impulse buy from SPX last year and probably the one I was most excited to read. I work at a children's hospital and have helped tell the stories about rare diseases with no FDA-approved treatments. I was also diagnosed with a chronic illness when I was 16 years old, and one of the ways I found my way into science writing was trying to find the words to describe what was happening to me so that people could better understand me and why I might not be "normal." I know a lot of people with illnesses struggle to talk about them in a way that is matter-of-fact but could also help others who are struggling to talk about what they are going through. This story threads that needle incredibly well.

Bruck syndrome is not something I was super familiar with before this story. Maria, author AND artist, really covered a lot of ground in not a lot of space. From the challenges of diagnosis, to social difficulties even with those who mean well, to alternative treatments when nothing else seems to work, to frustration with some of the doctors we put our trust into but might not understand our plights as well as we'd like them to. There was a LOT I identified with, even though what I've been through hasn't been as challenging as what Maria has had to endure.

This is also accessible, too. I think high schoolers and even middle schoolers dealing with rare illnesses or those who might struggle to communicate what is wrong with them could benefit from this story. It's not necessarily about finding a cure. It's about learning to understand who you are and finding the victories that work for you. I had those days where I wish people would have understood that just getting through them was an incredible victory. So for Maria to have gone through all this and be willing to tell her story, it feels like something so many could benefit from.

[Bree ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up as it is Disability Pride Month, and have seen it as a suggested read in various places. This is an autobiographical memoir detailing Sweeney's journey with Bruck syndrome, a rare and progressive disease that is marked by a combination of osteogenesis imperfecta and arthrogryposis multiplex congenita. This condition causes brittle bones, contractures, joint stiffness, and fractures, which over time adversely affects the surrounding nerves. As a result, Sweeney has had to undergo multiple surgeries and is no stranger to near constant pain.

First of all, Sweeney is an incredible artist. I loved looking at every panel. Her talent becomes even more apparent when she shares that she had neuropathy in both hands. I was surprised by the very first panel, in which she and her family visit a park in Toms River, New Jersey. As a New Jersey native, I've visited that same "castle park". I have clinical experience and witnessed first hand the exhausting battle that patients with disabilities and/or chronic pain must engage in - it is absolutely ridiculous. Appointments, paperwork, travel, time off work, uncomfortable situations, never-ending expenses, self-advocacy, and ever present pain and discomfort. Sweeney has dealt with all of these things.

Reading this book can cause some heartache because it just shows how hard it is to be disabled in America. I hope that afterward, readers are able to see disability more clearly, can raise awareness, and promote inclusion and community care. I sincerely hope that Sweeney has more good days than bad, that she has access to a caring and patient medical team, and that she is able to continue to create beautiful art.

[TaiTai · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, can we talk about the art🤩😍it’s simply gorgeous. That’s what really pulled me into the book while I was in the bookstore in Brooklyn. Another thing is, I’ve never seen a graphic novel about disability justice before. This humanizes disabled people’s emotions, experiences, challenges in navigating the medical industrial system, and finding joy, friendship, support, love, acceptance of limitations and striving for the best care possible, while living within the confines of a society and system that devalues disabled people and creates inaccessibility and influences discrimination for those with rare conditions.

I was born with a rare bleeding disorder, so I didn’t fully relate to the medical challenges, but I cried when I read the pages about emotional challenges/ depression and extreme frustration with doctors in the medical industrial complex/ having to put so much energy into finding answers and sometimes receive absolutely no helpful information back.

It was so touching and healing to feel less alone. I immediately started a book chain with friends who deal with long covid, sending the book along. I hope more and more people can read this. Society needs more humanization of disability to heal.

I feel inspired to one day write a book about living with hemophilia as an AFAB, with the help of an amazing graphic artist with talent like Maria Sweeney :)

[Caleste Hawthorne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful graphic novel detailing the experience of have physical disabilities, a rare genetic condition, and dealing with a society that does not prioritize the needs of all of the citizens. I would definitely recommend this story for anyone who wants to learn more about what life is like with chronic pain or physical conditions or even for folks who have loved ones who deal with physical disabilities. The story is extremely relatable even for folks who may not have a rare genetic condition but have to deal with navigating a medical system with chronic pain or navigating the world when movement is difficult.

The graphic novel also spends a little bit of time discussing the authors identity as an international adoptee from Maldova. As much as I loved what was in the graphic novel I would have really loved to also get a chance to learn more about the intersectionality of having a rare genetic condition, chronic pain, losing their Maldova heritage and everything else that the author has been pondering.

[David Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "Brittle Joints," Maria Sweeney pens an impactful memoir chronicling her life with Branch disease. This poignant narrative serves as a reflective examination of a female artist's battle with an enigmatic illness that is often overlooked by society. The book sheds light on the societal failings to accommodate those living with severe physical disabilities, painting a vivid picture through Sweeney's lived experiences — from navigating physical hurdles and contending with public perception, to being seen only as a collection of symptoms by healthcare professionals. Nevertheless, amid these challenges, the memoir reveals instances of empathy and support and delves into the growth of a creator finding her voice. The passages set in Moldova add rich depth to the narrative, as her condition obliges her to view herself from an outsider's perspective—a journey akin to reconstructing her identity while looking at childhood photos and sifting through her past.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a little worried, based on the cover art, that this would be a little more toward the grotesque style, but the illustrations are more moderate.

The book covers chronic pain, mobility issues, healthcare and health"care", medical and recreational marijuana, and allies. A nontraditional selection for a book group, or read with books like The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness and The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm chronically ill/disabled and have limited spoons right now, but just wanted to say I have been looking for comics addressing physical disability for forever, not from a caregiver perspective, and from someone who can also directly address the experience of being economically marginalized as well - not something you often see in traditionally published comics because of ableism in the publishing world. So glad I found this story! As an ambulatory wheelchair user and someone who lives with a genetic condition effecting my joints, muscles, and connective tissues, I relate this narrative very deeply. I'm glad it's out in the world <3

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I was going to learn a lot from this book, but wow, was it as heartbreaking as informative. I’ve heard some peoples’ experiences living with chronic pain over the last few years but had never heard of Bruck syndrome before coming across this graphic novel in a bookstore.

I don’t usually gravitate towards this art style but the title and the author drawn in a wheelchair among flowers and growths on the cover captured my attention immediately. I’m so glad I bought this - the read was a quick one but very intense. I learned about various governmental and societal barriers to getting the care people with chronic conditions need and realized how people talk to/about these folks in every day life. my heart hurt by the end of this novel but I’ll take the realizations with me!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very gritty graphic memoir. It’s a testament to chronic pain- both its psychological stigma and the challenges of living with the debilitating physical effects. Maria lives with Bruck Syndrome, a condition affecting her bones, joints, and mobility. She uses marijuana and reluctantly accepts support from others to make it through the day. This book came onto my radar because it was selected by the American Library Association’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table for their annual 2024 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List. I borrowed it from the library and read through it quickly.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria Sweeney is a 2025 Eisner nominee for Best Writer/Artist.

Publisher: When Maria Sweeney was young, she kept count of her broken bones. As she grew older, she living with Bruck syndrome, a rare progressive condition that gives her very brittle bones and joint abnormalities.

Sweeney, in the graphic medicine tradition (see my gn-health list), documents her condition from several angles. She writes of the anguishing weight of living with a debilitating disorder, but also things that help:family, cannibis, bananas, love. Beautiful paintings. Useful to anyone living with a progressive disease or also for family and friends.