Leaving Home: A memoir in full colour
Book •
Mark Haddon's illustrated memoir combines text, photographs, collages and cartoons to present a vivid, often blunt account of his unhappy childhood and its long-term emotional effects.
The memoir eschews melodrama, offering clear, unsentimental vignettes that reveal an absence of parental affection and pervasive fear in the household.
Haddon also addresses his struggles with hypochondria, depression and self-harm, including a candid recent episode documented in the book.
Interwoven are reflections on his artistic life, mythic interests, and how creativity helped him survive and build a different life for his own family.
The result is a brave, original book that balances humor, honesty and visual inventiveness.
The memoir eschews melodrama, offering clear, unsentimental vignettes that reveal an absence of parental affection and pervasive fear in the household.
Haddon also addresses his struggles with hypochondria, depression and self-harm, including a candid recent episode documented in the book.
Interwoven are reflections on his artistic life, mythic interests, and how creativity helped him survive and build a different life for his own family.
The result is a brave, original book that balances humor, honesty and visual inventiveness.
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Norma Clarke
Escape Artists
