British comics artist Rachael Smith's third graphic memoir, Glass Half Empty, is a refreshingly candid account of her recovery from alcoholism after her father's death. Smith (Quarantine Comix) traces how her father's alcohol addiction affected her childhood. She remembers "writing to God to ask him to stop Daddy from drinking." From age 10 she attended Alateen, and her mother left instructions for what to do if she found her father passed out when she got home from school. Smith never knew if her father would be attentive or angry. "My sense of self-worth was always tangled up in how much I thought my dad loved me," she writes; in some of these panes, her adult self appears alongside her younger self, offering advice.
In the memoir's second half, she realizes alcohol has become problematic for her. She depicts her epiphany, "alcoholism is hereditary," as a literal bomb drop. Drinking is unhelpfully romanticized in writers, Smith remarks, whereas when she gives it up, she experiences greater creativity (and waking up without a hangover is nice). Abstinence is feasible for her, though moderation is not. Moving to a new town and seeing a therapist are positive developments.
Barky and Friendly, the imaginary canine pair from Smith's earlier work, appear here. Barky, the black dog, represents depression, and Friendly is an embodiment of self-compassion; they symbolize her mood swings and the opposing pulls of self-harm and healthy habits. The full-color illustrations are invigorating, and the memoir ends with a valuable list of resources. The self-deprecating humor and psychological understanding make this a brave accomplishment. --Rebecca Foster, freelance reviewer, proofreader, and blogger at Bookish Beck