Cheryl by Jillian Fleck
CBC Books | Posted: March 19, 2024 3:32 PM | Last Updated: March 20
A story about a woman in her forties discovering her sexuality and searching for enlightenment
Cheryl just came out and she's been doing just fine, thanks for asking!!!! She just broke up with her dog, quit gluten, cut contact with her father, and is just really trying to focus on getting enough water daily! It's all going great!! Except it isn't and everything is terrible, because no matter what Cheryl does she really can't shake that there's something wrong deep down in the core of her being.
What would really fix things would be to address her lingering internalized homophobia and childhood trauma. Or reach total spiritual enlightenment, reaching total enlightenment sounds easier, let's go with that one. As Cheryl falls further down the New Age wellness industrial complex however, the world turns out to be a lot weirder and sicker than she could have ever imagined. Now Cheryl is forced to confront that not only is it not all about her, but that she might have some part to play in making it better.
Cheryl is a vision board of a coming out gone sideways. (From Conundrum Press)
Jillian Fleck is a multidisciplinary artist and comic creator from Calgary. Their work has been featured in various anthologies and publications. Her previous graphic novel is Lake Jehovah.