My friends are dying. Aren’t yours? It seems like weekly. I hope it’s not contagious. I want to die later after I learn how to breathe without wearing my shoulders like bunny ears. I want to wait until my chest stays open for most of the day and my hands don’t clench or claw. I want some days during which soft is the first word … Continue reading America by Leanne Grabel
In an interview with Brontosaurus Illustrated author Leanne Grabel, The Opiate probes the mind of this Portland-based luminary to get her thoughts on everything from the creative process that went into the book to her advice on how to cope with sexual assault, itself the subject of her new graphic novel released on The Opiate Books imprint. The Opiate: When did you first know that … Continue reading “I’ve Turned Depression and Anger Into Vaudeville”: An Interview With Leanne Grabel
Regular readers of The Opiate may recognize Leanne Grabel’s work from the pages of our magazine, where we previously serialized Brontosaurus. Now available as Brontosaurus Illustrated, this is the work as you’ve never seen it–gorgeously illustrated and beautifully designed with the help of Robin Chilstrom. Don’t miss out on this truly unique and unprecedented memoir that turns a lasting trauma into something triumphant and hopeful. … Continue reading The Opiate Books Presents: Brontosaurus Illustrated by Leanne Grabel
Absolutely everything has been said about the death of the mother. It’s enormous. It’s bigger than a brontosaurus. It’s like its own planet. How in the end, the mother curls up like a fingernail or an apple stem on the coffee table. And how desperately sad that is. It’s almost unbearable. Those bastard details of the body going down. And yet, in the end, the … Continue reading The Day My Mother Died by Leanne Grabel
