Name: Dancing at the Pity Party
ISBN: 9780525553021

Tyler Feder

Tegneserie - graphic novel. Tyler Feder shares her story of her mother's first oncology appointment to facing reality as a motherless daughter

Dancing at the Pity Party

Jeannette Ordas

A pretty great graphic novel for anyone who has lost their mother. I didn't have the same relationship with my mom that Tyler had - her's was really wonderful and loving and it shows on every single page. Recommended!

kendall p

Today is 6 months since I lost my mom, monday is my first birthday without her. 
This was everything I needed.

This wasn't my experience of losing my mom when I was still young when it came to the details but the heart and the spirit were precisely the same. Thank you, Tyler, for this beautiful book.

Krystal 

Mahogany Skillings

I loved this title and cried several times while reading. As a member of the Dead Mom club, it resonated. This will be a great title to help those going through the loss of a family member or who already have and need to know someone out there understands.

Archita Birla

this book is warm, lovely, and obviously sad. i like the way tyler talks about grief in an open and honest way, and i like that the book feels like a love letter to her mom (and all moms everywhere)

i've wanted to read this book since it came out, and i am so, so happy to have been able to. i cried a bit, but almost in a comforting way if that makes sense??

Fiona Coffey

Yoomi

It’s true. There is a special club for people who have lost a parent. ❤️

Samantha Seeman

Wow. This was so heartbreaking, and yet oddly funny? I saw a lot of myself in Tyler, and really enjoyed her wit and sense of humor about the whole thing. I liked how honest she was about her grief, and how even 10+ years after her mom died, she still feels that sadness creep in once in a while. I cannot imagine what her family went through, but I felt their grief. I cried, and I was so very tired after reading this. But it was good, and it clued me in on some pretty important tactics for dealing with grief (whether it be for myself or when a friend might be going through it).
I cautiously recommend this to most people, for obvious reasons.

Part poignant cancer memoir and part humorous reflection on a motherless life, this debut graphic novel is extraordinarily comforting and engaging. From before her mother's first oncology appointment through the stages of her cancer to the funeral, sitting shiva, and afterward, when she must try to make sense of her life as a motherless daughter, Tyler Feder tells her story in this graphic novel that is full of piercing--but also often funny--details. She shares the important post-death firsts, such as celebrating holidays without her mom, the utter despair of cleaning out her mom's closet, ending old traditions and starting new ones, and the sting of having the "I've got to tell Mom about this" instinct and not being able to act on it. This memoir, bracingly candid and sweetly humorous, is for anyone struggling with loss who just wants someone to get it.

Jeni Enjaian

What an amazing book. Feder opens up about the raw, grief of losing her mother at such a young age, doing so in a way that the reader cannot help but become invested in her story. The format of the book allows Feder to illustrate these complex feelings that words often fall short of describing. I highly recommend this book.

Max 

This book provides a whole new perspective on the grieving process. While it does hit hard, it also talks about remembering the little things. Not only this, but it acknowledges that it’s ok to be sad, even years later after losing someone!
The author also seemed to have taken every possible reader into account, including people who are part of different religions than herself, and even acknowledging that if your parents is abusive or bigoted, it’s ok to complain about them (while she explains her jealousy towards people who have moms). 
Amazing read, and got me to tear up (and I’m not the type to cry over books).
The only thing I would have to say to the author in terms of criticism: You like pineapple on your pizza?! HECK NO!!

Katie Cheng

Tyler is so generous in sharing her experience. In telling us about her mom, Tyler exposes her pain, her love, and her whole self. The book is a gentle invitation that allows us to witness Tyler's personal journey, and through her story, we learn to cope, to comfort, and to live life alongside death. Beautifully told and illustrated—would highly recommend.

Dancing at the Pity Party

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