Anxietyland

In her accessible and endearing first full-length graphic memoir, web cartoonist Correll (A Pug’s Guide to Life) cannily employs her trademark frank humor to discuss living with anxiety and depression. The narrative opens with Gemma undergoing an attack of “the bad feeling” so intense she checks herself into a hospital. She visits the psych ward for group therapy, prompting flashbacks that recount her lifelong struggles. “Little sparks followed me everywhere, ready to ignite at the first sign of potential danger,” she recalls. At one point, she develops such severe claustrophobia she’s unable to put on turtleneck sweaters; there are also periods of dissociation, which “would be kind of cool if it wasn’t so utterly terrifying.” As anxiety begins to limit her adult life, including her dream of moving from England to the United States, she becomes determined to expand her comfort zone. Correll’s cute, chunky art, simple but bursting with personality, lends a sweetness to the hard times, and her narration is peppered with witty asides: “Why is everyone telling me to drink tea? Is it just because I’m British?” In a running visual joke, “Anxietyland” is depicted as a carnival with attractions like the “Control Freak Show” and “House of No Fun.” It’s one of the funniest and warmest mental health memoirs to come along in a while. Agent: Monika Verma, LGR Literary. (Apr.)