Go to Sleep (I Miss You): Cartoons from the Fog of New Parenthood

by Lucy Knisley

Overview

An irresistable and hilarious collection of New York Times bestselling author Lucy Knisley's cartoons about new motherhood.

Lucy Knisley is one of the great memoirists of the graphic novel format. Following the completion of her pregnancy memoir Kid Gloves (and the birth of her baby), Lucy embarked on a new project: documenting new motherhood in short, spontaneous little cartoons, which she posted on her Instagram, and which quickly gained her a huge cult following among other moms.

The best of those wildly popular little cartoons are collected in this adorable gift book, Go to Sleep (I Miss You), a perfect read for expecting parents, new parents, and anyone who loves funny, relatable comics storytelling.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250778093
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	02/25/2020
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	16 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Lucy Knisley lives in Chicago with her partner, young son, and orange cat. She makes graphic novels (Relish, Something New, Kid Gloves) and children's books (You Are New, Wocks) and one excellent human.

Editorial Reviews

"Lucy Knisley’s superb series of memoirs, from the marriage-industrial complex to pregnancy, turns to what comes next with Go to Sleep (I Miss You): Cartoons From the Fog of New Parenthood." —Washington Post

"[Lucy's] spare linework conveys both the agony of an infant’s scrunched-up wail and the wonder of his perfectly rounded fingertips. Such observations make for a charmingly honest and humorous account of raising babies." —Publisher's Weekly

"A volume that will serve as a cherished keepsake for mother and son and will resonate strongly with other mothers." —Kirkus

"Whether you need a good laugh yourself, or have a new mom friend who could use a pick-me-up, [Go to Sleep (I Miss You)] is sure to do the trick. It’s the perfect companion for those late night calls of duty, and will hit the nail on the head when you wish baby would just. Go. To. Sleep." —The Bump

From the Publisher

Go to Sleep (I Miss You) is not a comprehensive graphic memoir of life with an infant, nor is it anchored by the firm structure of a new-parenthood guide. Instead, Knisley has crafted a collection of one-page anecdotes and lovingly scrawled sense memories of her early days as a new mother…Many of Knisley's cartoons are so gleefully giddy you can feel the oxytocin wafting off the page, but she also doesn't shy away from the gritty side of motherhood…

The New York Times Book Review - J.D. Biersdorfer

2019-11-05
A celebration of new motherhood, for new mothers, by a graphic artist who was then a new mother.

Knisley (Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos, 2019, etc.) admits that she "spent much of my pregnancy worried that having a baby would derail my work." Instead, it gave her work a new focus and fresh meaning as well as some occasional respite from the overwhelming duties of motherhood. The author calls her latest a "baby book" and a "sketchbook," and it is very much a work accommodating the pace and demands of having a baby. The sketches have an on-the-fly immediacy, and there's little attempt to sustain a narrative beyond a one-page panel. Who has the time? Or the concentration? Whether she's "running on (baby) fumes" or admitting that "some days it feels like there's nothing left," Knisley captures the exhilaration and exhaustion that a newborn brings to a household and its established routines. She explores "Some Unexpected Aspects of Mommification"—"you cannot think about anything bad happening to a kid without getting messed up for days"—demonstrating how motherhood changed her perspective and behavior in ways she hadn't anticipated even though she had likely given the upcoming changes plenty of thought. For example, "I expected breastfeeding to be hard, but I had NO IDEA." Throughout, the drawings and text capture the frenzied pace, the love and humor, the experience of feeling depleted and having nothing more to give—but then having to give some more. For all of the immediacy of the sketches, there's also a recognition of passing through stages and enjoying what you can while you can—because "Sleeplessness, Screaming & Teething Are Fleeting!" (drawn in a manner that could serve as a tattoo).

A volume that will serve as a cherished keepsake for mother and son and will resonate strongly with other mothers.

Kirkus Reviews