In Everything is OK, Debbie Tung illustrates her mental health journey, including her struggles with anxiety and depression, and her experience seeking therapy. She shares relatable feelings and typical thoughts that someone experiencing these struggles may have, and shows how mental health affects everything in your life. This book provides an honest look at these topics and includes important reminders about showing self-compassion and seeking help.

I’ve had anxiety for a long time and this book perfectly captured some of my struggles and anxious behaviour. A lot of moments in this book felt familiar to my own mental health journey, and I appreciate the graphic novel’s direct and realistic approach to these difficult topics. While a lot of the comics in this book are self-critical, I love how there’s so much kindness and self-compassion included as well. I also loved seeing the journey from feeling like you’re alone in your struggles and that no one will understand what you’re going through, to accepting your struggles and knowing it’s ok to ask for help. This was such an earnest book about mental health and I think a lot of people will be able to relate to it.

The use of colour in this book is stunning, and it’s wonderful to see Tung’s growth as an illustrator. For the most part, I enjoyed the writing but occasionally found it to be repetitive, or in a few instances I thought it didn’t flow well. But overall this didn’t affect my rating of the book and I understand that it’s often necessary to repeatedly remind yourself that your feelings are valid and you’re doing your best when struggling with mental health. 

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it didn’t disappoint. Thank you NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.