The publisher's summary:
This graphic memoir is about how the author copes with her loss of voice due to a severe injury. Part memoir, part medical cautionary tale, Dumb tells the story of how an urban twentysomething copes with the everyday challenges that come with voicelessness. Webber adroitly uses the comics medium to convey the practical hurdles she faced as well as the fear and dread that accompanied her increasingly lonely journey to regain her life. Her raw cartooning style, occasionally devolving into chaotic scribbles, splotches of ink, and overlapping montages, perfectly captures her frustration and anxiety. But her ordeal ultimately becomes a hopeful story. Throughout, she learns to lean on the support of her close friends, finds self-expression in creating comics, and comes to understand and appreciate how deeply her voice and identity are intertwined.
Georgia has a difficult time getting her point across to her friends in everyday life. Alot of the drawings have no dialogue but you can see what is happening as she tries to communicate with others. She decides not to go to loud places and mainly uses writing to converse with friends. Georgia still meets friends at bars but gets stressed because it takes alot of effort to communicate. It is tiring. Friends begin to view her as someone who needs to be helped constantly. Many of them, though, find her silence attractive. I love that she began wearing red lipstick to make it easier for people to read her lips.
The memoir reads fast. It's 178 pages are filled with drawings that are actually scribbles in black and red that are not always legible. However, they match the storyline concerning communication problems.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this graphic memoir and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.
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