Artist, zinester, and graphic novelist Sofia Szamosi returns with her new YA graphic memoir, Bad Kid: My Life as a “Troubled Teen.” The book follows the author’s experience as she was labeled a troubled teen and sent by her mother to several behavioral facilities that were popular in the early 2000s. The nightmare-turned-reality begins when young Szamosi is taken from her bedroom to be hauled away to a wilderness encampment in another state. As she tries to survive these programs, she bonds with the other teen residents. For the duration of her adolescence, Szamosi is a resident at multiple facilities, many of which were unregulated, leading to more trauma and harm. Deprived of contact with the outside world, including her mother, she learns to play by the institution’s rules so that she may someday be free from the predatory “troubled teen” industry. PW spoke with Szamosi about how adults should approach teens with behavioral issues and how destigmatizing them can lead to positive communication and care.

Has writing this book been therapeutic for you?

Yes, it was deeply, hugely therapeutic and gratifying. From the moment I started, it was flowing out of me effortlessly. I always knew that I wanted to tell this story in some way and make art about it, but I wasn’t sure what medium it would be. And when I started the graphic memoir format it felt correct. I also think it was a way for me to really digest and process my own story and some difficult parts from my past—parts that felt messy and scary. Part of making a graphic narrative is putting things in boxes and frames and playing with the frames and maybe even breaking the frame altogether.

You explore mixed media visuals in your graphic novel. What inspired you to include old photos and journal excerpts in the story?

Throughout the book, there are collage pages, instead of chapter pages. So, the photos from myself as a teen, and all the excerpts from letters and diaries I kept are sort of collaged there [in the story]. I was not emotional until the end of the book. I had been physically holding all of these photos and old letters from my adolescence, and when I was done, I felt like my teen self was in the room with me. All she wanted was to feel like she had a voice. That was the moment I cried, because I felt that pain again from all those years ago.

What do you want readers to take away from your experiences, and how do you suggest adults communicate with so-called “troubled teens”?

I hope that this book invites more curiosity. A [larger] message that I felt came clearly to me while I was working on this book is that there are no bad kids. They are kids struggling with relationships and [learning to navigate] broken relationships. And there’s no such thing as a broken kid; but there can be broken relationships. Relationships can heal as far as communicating with troubled teens. However, I don’t feel like there’s a one-size-fits-all answer as to how to help a struggling teen or a struggling family.

What would you want adults to understand about facilities created for teens who may experience behavioral, mental, or substance abuse issues? What do you think needs to change and what reforms do you believe are needed as a former teen who has experienced these facilities?

I can’t claim to be an expert and I would defer to organizations like Unsilenced.org and Breaking Code Silence, as they are experts in the field. But from my experience, I think a culture that is more about connection vs. correction is a good place to start. There needs to be real oversight and accountability in the “troubled teen” industry. We need federal standards and inspections as well as real consequences when abuse happens. We need to remove shame-based tactics and practices that are based on humiliation. We need more community healing and trauma-informed care.

Bad Kid: My Life as a “Troubled Teen” by Sofia Szamosi. Little, Brown Ink, $25.99 Mar. ISBN 978-1-5235-2738-0; $18.99 paper ISBN 978-1-64375-197-9