Cartoonist Raina Telgemeier Illustrates What Anxiety Feels Like in ‘Guts’

Raina wakes up one night with a terrible upset stomach. Her mom has one, too, so it’s probably just a bug. Raina eventually returns to school, but it soon becomes clear that Raina’s tummy trouble coincides with her worries about food, school, and changing friendships.

Dedicated to “anyone who feels afraid, Raina Telgemeier’s funny true story, written for children ages 8-12, is about how she gathered the courage to face — and conquer — her fears.

Raina Telgemeier is an author and illustrator based in San Francisco, California.  Her most recent graphic novel, Guts, is a New York Times bestseller and explores how her own anxiety manifested in the fourth grade — as a fear of vomit, or “emetophobia.”

In an interview in Inverse, Telgemeier was asked, “In Guts young Raina is, at first, afraid to tell her friends that she is going to therapy. Do you have any advice for people, of all ages, who might want to go to therapy but are intimidated by the attached stigma?”

Telgemeier responded, “I love therapy; I’m a huge fan! I think wanting to go is an extremely positive first step. Therapy is about working on your own self, so what other people think is very secondary to how much you might get out of the experience. Go for you.”

Read the full interview, “Cartoonist Raina Telgemeier Illustrates What Anxiety Feels Like in ‘Guts’” in Inverse. Also see “Raina Telgemeier became a hero to millions of readers by showing how uncomfortable growing up can be” in The Washington Post.

Interested in learning more about the graphic novel Guts? Read an excerpt and watch a video trailer on the Scholastic website. Guts is available to purchase online through Scholastic, Amazon, and through  national booksellers.

Source: Inverse | Cartoonist Raina Telgemeier Illustrates What Anxiety Feels Like in ‘Guts‘, https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/cartoonist-raina-telgemeier-illustrates-what-anxiety-feels-like-in-guts | INVERSE © 2020 Bustle Digital Group

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