Drawing the Distance - by Mimi Leung (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A wildly original and emotionally charged graphic memoir about art, identity, and what happens when the thing that once defined you no longer fits the person you've become.

Spanning continents and timelines, Mimi's story begins in 1980s England as a young Chinese immigrant trying to make sense of a world that doesn't quite make room for her. As she is pulled between cultures and bombarded by conflicting expectations, Mimi quietly turns to art as a means of survival.

Years later, in the thick fog of new motherhood in regional Australia, Mimi's creative self, once so central, starts to unravel. What follows is part memoir, part internal reckoning. An incisive and visually explosive journey to understand not just how to make art again, but why it mattered so deeply in the first place.

The more she dismantles inherited expectations, identities, and survival mechanisms, the more urgently she's drawn toward the question beneath them all: what parts of me are truly mine?

About the Author

Mimi Leung is an artist known for her vibrant, playful style. Her work infuses whimsical detail, biological references and fantastical worlds, and often explores themes of introspection, imagination, and wonder. Mimi's multidisciplinary practice spans traditional and digital media, as well as community development and creative facilitation. She lives in regional Victoria, Australia with her husband, two children, and two bunny siblings: Moonlily and Pumpkin.