Single Mothering
Age 18+
Graphic Novels
With acidic humour, true stories and brutal honesty, Anna Härmälä explores the ups and downs of single motherhood in this colourful, irreverent graphic novel.
After her partner suddenly leaves her, Li finds herself alone, with the baby. She’s a single mother, and it seems like nobody will ever see her as anything else, and her eyebags are now permanent features of her face. As her daughter gets older, she finds herself passing through the different stages of single motherhood: wondering if she’ll ever meet anyone on a dating app who isn’t also a sad, single parent just wanting to be friends; wondering if she can start socialising again without people asking her why she’s not home with the baby; wondering if she can sit and watch TV without falling straight to sleep. Can Li get over the hurdles of being a single mother without losing herself in the process?
Fans of Fleabag and irreverent comedy will love this debut non-fiction graphic novel from Finnish creator, Anna Härmälä which gives us a glimpse into what it feels like to piece yourself back together and re-discover your identity when you’re running on less than an hour’s sleep a night and someone depends on you for survival.
Creators
Anna Härmälä grew up in Vantaa near Helsinki and always knew she was going to work in the art field. Her parents encouraged her interest by putting her in art and theatre hobbies. Later she studied art and visual communication in Finland and Norway. She has an MA from Bergen Academy of Art and Design. She has written and illustrated several picture books published in Finland and Sweden. The books have also been translated into other languages. Anna has worked as the head of the Visual arts department at Västra Nylands folkhögskola for ten years. Her comics about single motherhood were picked up and featured in Guardian and various European newspapers.
Reviews
Härmälä is bitingly funny and visually innovative […] Her smooth, rounded art is delightfully expressive and self-deprecating. Parents, single and otherwise, will find plenty to laugh about, in solidarity.
Publishers Weekly
I love a book like this, one that’s honest, and that discusses both the big life changing events, as well as the little mundane moments.The big triumph of this book is that it manages to be relatable to someone like me, who is not single and is not a mother. Still, I saw aspects that were familiar, as well as learning about an experience that was very different to mine.I found it to be both funny and heartfelt, with really great artwork throughout. It’s more of a collection of comic strips than a single narrative, but that worked really well here.If you’re a fan of Rachel Smith’s auto-bio stuff, like Quarantine Comix, then you’ll love Anna Härmälä’s Single Mothering!”
Goodreads
Härmälä’s Single Mothering is an honest and funny reveal of the cult of motherhood and parenting. With a colourful and emotive drawing style, the book tells a deeply relatable story of expectations and grief when things do not work out as one planned. I loved the read and it filled me with empathy for anyone having to do single mothering, be it for a short period of time or for longer, out of choice or not.
Emma Ahlqvist, author of My Body Created a Human
