I Always Think It’s Forever: A Love Story Set in Paris as Told by an Unreliable but Earnest Narrator

Artist Goodman (Sharpie Art Workshop: Techniques and Ideas for Transforming Your World) recalls a failed relationship in this tender if uneven illustrated memoir. After a year of neglecting his mental health, Goodman visited Paris, where he fell in love with a Frenchwoman named Aimée. Four months later, Goodman returned home to New York City alone, and the couple eventually broke up, which sent Goodman into a spiral of depression. After therapy and medication, he was diagnosed with attachment disorder, partially the result of his traumatic upbringing (his first stepdad physically abused him). Goodman makes no bones about his vulnerability (“Breakups take a big toll on me”) as he plumbs the depths of his despair, but Aimée remains frustratingly opaque: other than her love of Britney Spears and astrology, she is solely defined as the object of Goodman’s affection. The whimsical illustrations evoke Keith Haring’s graffiti-like pop art, though they feel oddly buoyant in contrast to the melancholy material. Still, this emotionally raw narrative will resonate with anyone who has endured heartbreak. Agent: Jesseca Salky, Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency. (Jan.)