Bitter Medicine

By Clem Martini, Olivier Martini (illustrator),

Book cover of Bitter Medicine: A Graphic Memoir of Mental Illness

Book description

In 1976, Ben Martini was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. A decade later, his brother Olivier was told he had the same disease. The past thirty years have seen the Martini family struggle to understand and cope with a devastating illness, frustrated at turns by a health care system lacking in resources…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Bitter Medicine as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

There are lots of graphic novels and memoirs with medical themes, but I want to shine a light on this unique collaboration by brothers who capture their shared experience of schizophrenia, one diagnosed with the condition and the other who accompanies him through difficult navigation of an inadequate health care system and the struggle of managing a disease that isolates individuals and families from their communities.

Each brother works side-by-side to tell their interrelated stories: Olivier is a visual artist, and Clem is an author and playwright. Olivier’s drawings are on the verso, in simple black and white sketches, often…

From Dorothy's list on graphic literature and why to read them.

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