Skip to content
Responsive image
Vendor
Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Weblink
www.tylerfeder.com

DANCING AT THE PITY PARTY

Tyler Feder

A Dead Mom Graphic Memoir

Part poignant cancer memoir and part humorous reflection on a motherless life, this debut graphic novel is extraordinarily comforting and engaging.
From before her mother's first oncology appointment through the stages of her cancer to the funeral, sitting shiva, and afterward, when she must try to make sense of her life as a motherless daughter, Tyler Feder tells her story in this graphic novel that is full of piercing--but also often funny--details. She shares the important post-death firsts, such as celebrating holidays without her mom, the utter despair of cleaning out her mom's closet, ending old traditions and starting new ones, and the sting of having the "I've got to tell Mom about this" instinct and not being able to act on it. This memoir, bracingly candid and sweetly humorous, is for anyone struggling with loss who just wants someone to get it.

This is the book the author wished existed when she needed it most: Feder decided to write this memoir because she still finds herself searching for a book "that cradles my grief without smothering it." Eight years after the death of her mother, she is able to provide a nurturing and frank look at what it's like to grieve--a book that fills a deep hole in the market.

Tyler Feder is a full-time illustrator based in Chicago. She graduated from Northwestern University in 2011 with a BA in Radio/TV/Film and a certificate in Creative Writing for the Media. She further honed her comedic skills at the Second City Training Center, where she graduated from the writing program. In 2012, Tyler began posting her artwork online, and within five years she had grown her illustration company, Roaring Softly, into a recognizable brand with a mix of witty pop culture art and intersectional feminist pieces. She has illustrated for Netflix, Comedy Central, and ESPN, and is the illustrator of Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin's Unladylike.
Popular, social-media-savvy artist Tyler Feder has a large following on Instagram and Tumblr for her pop culture and intersectional feminist illustrations, which have made their way into Glamour, Buzzfeed, HuffPost, and even Mindy Kaling's Instagram account.
Available products
Book

Published 2020-04-14 by Dial Books For Young Readers

Comments

Book Trailer Read more...

ModernLoss.com ran a feature on DANCING AT THE PITY PARTY, highlighting the humorous and poignant look at grief. Read more...

Feder takes readers along on the nightmare road trip that nobody wants to make in a frank and funny, intimate and poignant graphic novel ... exceptionally articulate and accessible about details of the experience... There are plenty of excellent death-themed books for young (and adult) readers, but it's rare to find one that patiently walks the audience through the process while remaining approachable and even engaging.

...this book offers a wealth of perspective about coping with grief.

It's been a while since I've had a book validate feeling your true feelings when you feel them. This book does that and so much more.

Cosmopolitan.com (39.8 million unique visitors/ month) included DANCING AT THE PITY PARTY in a round of books to read while social distancing: "Gorgeous graphic novel... When Tyler Feder loses her mom to cancer, she deals with all the normal feelings of grief and loss. But here, she wraps them all up in a beautiful bow (aka a graphic novel) and shares poignant, sweet memories that make readers feel a little less alone." Read more...

Feder's tender memoir of coping with a parent's death deftly and sensitively blends joy, anguish, and even whimsy... Equal parts celebration, reflection, and mourning, this graphic memoir touches on the unpredictable path of grief. Feder shares her experience of navigating death with beauty and raw honesty... Grieving teens will find incredible solace in Feder's story; all readers will be stirred by this wrenching yet uplifting musing.

Sincere but not sappy, this bittersweet and affecting meditation on the author's experiences also serves as a heartfelt celebration of her mother's life.

Touching and sweetly humorous, Dancing at the Pity Party is for anyone struggling with loss who just wants someone to get it. Read more...

...easily a five-star read for me and I definitely see this one making my best of 2020 list.

Already one of my favorite books of the year, Dancing at the Pity Party is a beautiful and colorful graphic novel about the way author Tyler Feder experienced the loss of her mother. She covers a decade's worth of experiences, reviewing the way she felt when her mother was diagnosed, diving into the awkward way friends and loved ones attempt to comfort those who have lost someone, and offering a candid, real look at how grief really feels - and keeps it funny, a testament to her talent. Read more...

It was definitely my favorite graphic novel I've read in a while!

Grief can be crushing, but this heartfelt memoir will comfort those who have known it and gently show those who haven't how to help and what to expect.

Tyler Feder is strikingly adept at taking the worst time of her life and turning it into a book so full of wit and love that it's impossible to put down.

Tyler Feder's book brings such a refreshing honesty and vulnerability to one of the most difficult things a person can face. Her beautiful insights and clever pictures take you on a personal journey you'll long remember.

A poignant and necessary work that will simultaneously make you laugh and cry. Feder's storytelling is as vivid and impactful as cartooning gets.

The pastel-toned illustrations effectively convey Feder's youth and the intensity of her emotions while emphasizing the ultimate message of survival and resilience in the face of life-changing grief. Cathartic and uplifting.

I can't recommend this kind, funny, and poignant memoir enough. It's an intimate, life-affirming story of resilience that feels like a good friend.

I wish I had a book like this when I was 13, but I am so grateful to have it now.

Feder's graphic memoir chronicling her mother's death isn't a straightforward narrative. There are moments of humor, yes, but also creative experiments that will make you rethink what a story of loss can be (like Feder's description of what a "dead mom app" would look like). The book is just as much about what happens to those left behind after death as it is about grieving as the direct aftermath, about making sense of what your life looks like without someone you love in it. Read more...

DANCING AT THE PITY PARTY is a Spring 2020 Indie Next Pick for Teens

Chinese (compl.): Sun Color Culture

Dancing at the Pity Party is a gift to anyone who's ever grieved and a guidebook for those who haven't. Utterly breathtaking.