32 Memoirs You Have To Read

, David Small (2009)
Themes: Family dysfunction, cancer, disability

When David Small, acclaimed illustrator and children's book writer, was a kid, his two frigid, unaffectionate parents decided not tell him that he had cancer. Instead, he got surgery to remove the lump on his neck, which had gone untreated for years, and turned out to be cancerous. When he woke up, he'd lost a vocal chord, and his neck had scars like Frankenstein. After that, David descends into a tormented, difficult adolescence. This graphical novel tracks his spiral downward, and his emotional recovery through art.