EVENTUALLY EVERYTHING CONNECTS :
EVENTUALLY EVERYTHING CONNECTS :
EIGHT ESSAYS ON UNCERTAINTY
As a neurodivergent artist , Sarah Firth is drawn to exploring the idiosyncrasies of how we attempt to know ourselves and navigate the world , given the contradictions , paradoxes , and complexities that we all embody . Thus , Eventually Everything Connects : Eight Essays on Uncertainty was born . A collection of eight autobiographical visual essays exploring the joys and pains of living in a hypercomplex , uncertain world , these autobiographical visual essays uses Firth ’ s sprawling and colorful style to ask life ’ s deepest philosophical questions about happiness , hope , love , sex , death , truth , reality , and the definition of “ self .”
Seek answers to Firth ’ s process in creating Eventually Everything Connects below !
DIAMOND : For those who aren ’ t familiar , can you tell us what readers can expect from Eventually Everything Connects ? SARAH FIRTH : It is an adult graphic novel about trying to navigate these turbulent times while holding onto hope and connection amidst the hypercomplex world we ’ re in . It ’ s also about learning to make friends with yourself and your experiences , to build capacity and resilience and see the human and more-than-human world with fresh eyes .
How did this project come about ? This book was sparked by an opportunity to attend a two-week residency with The Comic Art Workshop in 2015 . To apply you needed to have an ambitious graphic novel pitch , and it was due the next day ! So I did an all nighter and came up with the idea . To my surprise I was selected , and that residency ended up being a formative experience . It lit the fire in my belly that kept me going over the eight years it took to make the book .
“ Leaves you with a deep appreciation of how very strange it is to be alive .” JESSICA ABEL AUTHOR OF GROWING GILLS : HOW TO FIND CREATIVE FOCUS WHEN YOU ’ RE DROWNING IN YOUR DAILY LIFE
Can you tell us more about your process for deciding which essays went in the book ? Each of these essays is centred around uncertainty , trying to hold it , dance with it or better understand it . Each essay draws directly from my lived experience , woven with the words of other thinkers and ideas . The flow of
essays follows and intuitive and interconnected structure where each riffs of the themes of the chapter before .
What kind of obstacles did you face while creating the book ? As a neurodivergent person , writing a big book was a big obstacle . It was a huge learning curve doing the research , deep-thinking , synthesis , and structuring of the book . And finding ways to do it that worked for me . Other obstacles were a lot of rejection from agents and publishers early on that almost lead to me giving up on the book . And of course self-doubt ! That old chestnut .
What would you say is the most rewarding part of the process ? Having a tangible book in my hands still feels so magical , given how hard it was to make the book and how long it too . My favourite thing is connecting with readers and hearing what resonated , comforted or sparked their courage and curiosity while reading the book . And what stays with them in their lives and hearing their stories in response to my stories .
In terms of audience , who is Eventually Everything Connects for ? This book is for curious people looking for connection , a good laugh , meaning making , solace and fresh ways of seeing personal and political problems in these turbulent times .
What are you hoping readers take away from this book ? A feeling of renewed curiosity , lateral ways of thinking , solidarity , reinvigoration and courage to continue living and striving for what matters .
ABOUT THE CREATOR : SARAH FIRTH is a cartoonist , artist , writer , and graphic recorder whose published works include contributions to Eisner Award-winning and Ignatz-nominated anthologies . Learn more about Firth and her work at sarahthefirth . com .
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