SEEK YOU, A JOURNEY THROUGH AMERICAN LONELINESS by Kristen Radtke

“When we crave closeness, I’m not sure if what we want is something we used to have or a hazy image of what we never will. And I don’t have an answer for what we do when we’ve lost the ability to do anything but tread water.”

This graphic novel has incredible artwork and prose to match. Everyone feels loneliness. Even the hardest of people with the most mental toughness suffer the perils of feeling alone.

Her artwork is still captures that embody the words on the page so boldly, often with the characters looking bleak or expressionless. You can feel the longing in the artwork.

This is not to be confused, it is my belief that this exposé on loneliness is supposed to bring hope. Hope to use the loneliness we’ve experienced collectively to transition into a more cohesive society.

This non-fiction graphic novel taught me so much about our history as a nation and how we have experienced connection and the lack thereof, with one another. As Radtke explains, according to other countries, loneliness is a public health concern. It effects all aspects of life. In this digital age we are slipping farther and father away from each other with the falsehood that we are growing closer.

Radkte uses psychology, eloquence, and story telling to narrate the history of loneliness in America. This graphic novel will have you amazed at her talent to match art with science to explore this Journey Through American Loneliness.

- Flip