So Many Ways to Draw a Ghost (2023) by Chelsea Granger
A book about death, grief, and joy, with writing and artwork by Chelsea Granger and a collection of contributing writers & artists who have come to know death intimately. A powerful collection of essays, poems, paintings, illustrations, photographs, prayers, and rituals meant to honor the unbearable heartbreak of grief.
So Many Ways to Draw a Ghost was six years in the making and was printed by Greko Printing (Comix Wellspring) in Plymouth, Michigan. Book contains 151 full-color pages and is soft covered.
From the introduction:
"This book was made because I want to talk about death. Because I want to talk about grief. Because I believe we need to talk about it more than we do. Because when she died I wanted something like this. This book exists because I believe in art. Because I think our stories matter, because I think our grief matters. Because maybe one person who reads this might feel less alone. With this book I invite the dead to sit at the table and for us to sit there with them. May our grief deepen our presence and our joy.
In February of 2015, when I was 32, my dear friend, Ruth, who was also 32, died of colon cancer. Nine months after Ruth’s death, my mom, Suzann, died suddenly & unexpectedly at 61 from unknown causes. Around this same time within my close community, there were many deaths - fathers, mothers, babies, best friends – a storm cloud of death that had settled around me and my loved ones.
It was a lot.
It was too much.
This book is because of, and about how, things shifted for me since then.
It is a story of grief and learning to grieve, told in pieces. Death broke me, and it also helped me to become more fully alive. I hope this book can honor the unbearable heartbreak of grief.
You will find writing, drawings, photographs, comics, illustrations, prayers, rituals, paintings, essays, and poems. I have many friends who know death intimately and so I asked for contributions to speak to their different experiences with death. Their writing and art is beautiful, powerful, and humbling. I feel honored to share it with you alongside my own work."
Artist/Author Bio:
Chelsea Granger is a multidisciplinary artist. Painting, drawing, illustration, murals and tattoos are the foundation of her practice. After the death of her mom as well as a dear friend, she started seeing her art as a way to ‘sing up’ life, with the hope that her art can act as a doorway to create conversations about death and grief. Chelsea’s art is of the everyday, inspired by the overlap of earth/spirit dimensions, and woods as church. She is interested in painting as medicine, painting as a portal, painting as a spell. Her work has been exhibited across the northeast and her murals exist across New England. For over twelve years Chelsea has collaborated with Thyme Herbal, making medicine posters and zines. Chelsea attended Parsons School of Design before receiving her Bachelors in Painting from UMass Amherst and a Certificate in Therapeutic Recreation from Gateway Community College. Her work celebrates life while honoring death, and walking gently into the unknown.