Single Mothering - by Anna Härmälä (Paperback)

About the Book

"After her partner suddenly leaves her, Li finds herself alone, with the baby. She's a single mother, and it seems like nobody will ever see her as anything else, and her eyebags are now permanent features of her face. As her daughter gets older, she finds herself passing through the different stages of single motherhood: wondering if she'll ever meet anyone on a dating app who isn't also a sad, single parent just wanting to be friends; wondering if she can start socializing again without people asking her why she's not home with the baby; wondering if she can sit and watch TV without falling straight to sleep. Can Li get over the hurdles of being a single mother without losing herself in the process?"--

Book Synopsis

With acidic humor, true stories and brutal honesty, Anna Härmälä explores the ups and downs of single motherhood in this colorful, irreverent graphic novel.

After her partner suddenly leaves her, Li finds herself alone, with the baby. She's a single mother, and it seems like nobody will ever see her as anything else, and her eyebags are now permanent features of her face. As her daughter gets older, she finds herself passing through the different stages of single motherhood: wondering if she'll ever meet anyone on a dating app who isn't also a sad, single parent just wanting to be friends; wondering if she can start socializing again without people asking her why she's not home with the baby; wondering if she can sit and watch TV without falling straight to sleep. Can Li get over the hurdles of being a single mother without losing herself in the process?

Fans of Fleabag and irreverent comedy will love this debut non-fiction graphic novel from Finnish creator, Anna Härmälä which gives us a glimpse into what it feels like to piece yourself back together and re-discover your identity when you're running on less than an hour's sleep a night and someone depends on you for survival.

Review Quotes

Härmälä's Single Mothering is an honest and funny reveal of the cult of motherhood and parenting. With a colourful and emotive drawing style, the book tells a deeply relatable story of expectations and grief when things do not work out as one planned. I loved the read and it filled me with empathy for anyone having to do single mothering, be it for a short period of time or for longer, out of choice or not. - Emma Ahlqvist, author of My Body Created a Human

Anna Härmälä's visually stunning, emotionally unflinching graphic memoir SingleMothering is a marvel. Härmälä has an extraordinary sense of pacing, interspersing funny and poignant shorter observations with longer vignettes to take the reader through the experience of her first year as a mother. Härmälä's sumptuous illustrations pair well with her storytelling, and Single Mothering is a beautiful window into the life of a new mom, a single mother, as well as the life of a Scandinavian parent. Moms, single or not, will enjoy this gorgeously illustrated memoir of becoming a mother. - Grace Farris, author of Mom Milestones

As a mother (who almost forgot to write this blurb because mothering is a full-time job), this book made me want to reach out to all the other exhausted moms and give them a hug (and this book) - Katja Klengel, creator of Girlsplaining

Härmälä is bitingly funny and visually innovative [...] Her smooth, rounded art is delightfully expressive and self-deprecating. Parents, single and otherwise, will find plenty to laugh about, in solidarity. - Publishers Weekly

'Innovative, humorous, and self-deprecating, fans of irreverent comedy pieces like Benji Nate's Girl Juice will adore the warmth and trail-blazing message of Single Mothering.' - Lydia Turner, Broken Frontiers

Ethereal artwork merges with bold and vulnerable text to make a beautiful snapshot of loss and eventually, hope. - Goodreads

About the Author

Anna Härmälä grew up in Vantaa near Helsinki and always knew she was going to work in the art field. Her parents encouraged her interest by putting her in art and theater hobbies. Later she studied art and visual communication in Finland and Norway. She has an MA from Bergen Academy of Art and Design. She has written and illustrated several picture books published in Finland and Sweden. The books have also been translated into other languages. Anna has worked as the head of the Visual arts department at Västra Nylands folkhögskola for ten years. Her comics about single motherhood were picked up and featured in Guardian and various European newspapers.