Dive into the anxiety-fueled world of New Yorker cartoonist Jason Adam Katzenstein in “Everything Is an Emergency: An OCD Story in Words & Pictures.” This compelling graphic memoir offers a darkly humorous and deeply personal look at living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Forget clinical detachment; Katzenstein’s illustrations and witty narrative draw you into the daily struggles, irrational fears, and exhausting rituals that define his experience. From navigating the social minefield of New York City to confronting his deepest anxieties through therapy and medication, he lays bare his vulnerability with unflinching honesty. More than just a confessional, this book is a testament to the power of self-acceptance and the importance of finding humor even in the face of overwhelming challenges. A recommended read for anyone touched by anxiety, mental illness, or simply seeking a relatable and insightful story about the human condition. Published by Harper Perennial.
Everything Is an Emergency: An OCD Story in Words & Pictures
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New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
A brilliant, honest, necessary book that exposes the intricacies of the human brain while showing us the way creativity and friendship can anchor us. This is a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered if they see the world a little differently. Ada Limn
A New Yorker cartoonist illustrates his lifelong struggle with OCD in cartoon vignettes frank and funny
Jason Adam Katzenstein is just trying to live his life, but he keeps getting sidetracked by his over-active, anxious brain. Mundane events like shaking hands or sharing a drink snowball into absolute catastrophes. Jason has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a mental illness that compels him to perform rituals in order to protect himself from dangers that dont really exist. He checks, washes, over-thinks, rinse, repeat.
He does his best to hide his embarrassing compulsions, and sometimes this even works. He grows up, worries about his first kiss, falls in love with making cartoons, moves to New York City which is magical and gross, etc. All the while, half his energy goes into living his life, while the other half is devoted to the increasingly ridiculous rituals hes decided to maintain to keep himself from fully short-circuiting,
Then, he fully short-circuits.
At his absolute lowest, Jason finally decides to do the things hes always been told to do to get better: exposure therapy and medication. These are the things that have always freaked him out, and they continue to freak him out. Also, they help him recover.
Everything is an Emergency is a comic about all the self-destructive stories someone tells himself, over and over, until they start to seem true. In images surreal, witty, and confessional, Jason shows us that OCD can be funny, even when it feels like its ruining your life.
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Binding | |
| Condition | |
| ISBN-10 | 006295007X |
| ISBN-13 | 9780062950079 |
| Language | |
| Pages | 256 |
| Publisher | |
| Year published | |
| Weight | 340 |
| Edition | Illustrated |
