Miriam Engelberg
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Miriam Engelberg (1958 - 17 October 2006) was a graphic novelist and illustrator, whose battle with metastatic breast cancer was chronicled in her bestselling comic memoir, Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, at the age of 43, Engelberg observed the harrowing and difficult experience she had with cancer treatment, in particular the inattentive and often ineffectual medical establishment's approach towards patients' psychological health. These observations, drawn in Engelberg's primitive, naive style, would eventually be published as Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person.
Some critics consider Engelberg's artwork crude and amateurish, especially in the face of writer Brian Fies' similarly themed graphic novel, Mom's Cancer. Engelberg's fans, however, believe that her simple but expressive drawings give balance and counterpoint to the black humor and painful subjects of her book.
In August 2006 Engelberg revealed in her blog that her cancer had spread to her brain, and she was receiving palliative care through home hospice[1].
As of October 2006, Engelberg was still continuing to publish comics through her website, although her once weekly comic updates were growing less frequent and consistent. She died on 17 October 2006, aged 48.
Contents |
[edit] Works
- Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person (English), HarperCollins, New York City
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Miriam Engelberg's official website
- Miriam's Blog
- NPR Article on Cancer-Themed Graphic Novels
- San Jose Mercury News article on death
