Dear Scarlet – The Story of My Postpartum Depression
Written and illustrated by Teresa Wong
ISBN 9781551527659
Dear Scarlet- The Story of My Postpartum Depression is a debut graphic memoir by Chinese-Canadian writer Teresa Wong. Described as “a love-letter for [her] three children and mother,” the title and story in the book is addressed to the author’s first daughter, in which she describes her journey of becoming a new mother who is grappling with postpartum depression. The eye-catching, red cover features Wong’s drawing of herself buried underneath apples, which also appears as a panel within the book where she recounts a particular recurring postpartum dream.
An engaging storyteller, Wong’s reflective chronicles of becoming a mother with postpartum depression is honest and compassionate as manifested through her hand-written words and simple, unpretentious ink drawings. Applying various sizes and scale to her panels, lettering and figures throughout the memoir, the author presents visual metaphors of her internal emotional landscape where she grapples with feelings of inadequacy, guilt, shame and despair. The narrative is punctuated with various postpartum diagrams and anecdotes she humorously labels as “not for the faint of heart,” some of which provide readers insights on how giving birth has shifted Wong’s mind and body, and a deconstruction of the traditional home-cooked Chinese postpartum foods her mother makes and insists she consume to restore her health. Though Dear Scarlet starts out with Wong feeling isolated and alone in her confusion about her condition, readers learn of her persistence to stay alive for her infant, which allows her to find the help she needs from mental health professionals, her family, and a doula named AJ. She also draws inspiration and hope from the words of poet Rainer Maria Rilke and musical lyrics like those of Coldplay. Piece by piece, Wong gradually develops the resiliency she needs to care for herself and for her child.
With her frank depictions of dealing with mental illness and parenthood in a page-turning graphic memoir, Wong’s Dear Scarlet would be an appealing read to both adolescents and adults alike. For scholars and students in disciplines such as psychology, social work, nursing and graphic medicine, Dear Scarlet is thought-provoking text that could provide various discussion points about mental illness, alternative forms of healthcare, trauma, and parenthood.
Review by Dawn Wing. Editing assistance by Jaena Cabrera.