An evocative and heartfelt graphic memoir about the challenges of living with a progressive disability.

When Maria Sweeney was young, she kept count of her broken bones. As she grew older, she stopped. Living with Bruck syndrome, a rare progressive condition that gives her very brittle bones and joint abnormalities, meant that those numbers climbed and climbed.

Today, she struggles every day, living in an often-inaccessible world. As an ambulatory wheelchair user, ordinary actions like entering a building, sitting at a cafe, or holding a cup of tea can be drastically different for her than for others.

With lush illustrations, Maria tells the story of her lifelong struggle to obtain care in an increasingly complicated and disinterested US healthcare system. But for every step that presents a struggle, there's also beauty, friendship, art, and growth. She documents the relief she's found in alternative therapies, particularly medical marijuana; in loving community and chosen family; and in nature and her creative practice. A powerfully understated critique of our modern world, Brittle Joints offers a generous, expansive look at how to live and love amidst the challenges of survival.

Major review attention

National media

Online/social media promotion

Academic marketing

Buzz mailings to disability-rights organizations

Potential strategic partnerships: Human Rights Watch, Association of People With Disabilities, The National Disability Rights Network, NORML, Americans for Safe Access

Promotion through the author's Instagram account: @moldovamaria

Bookseller/Library promotions:

• ARC giveaways through the ABA Advance Access Newsletter
• Blad giveaways to librarians and educators who attend the San Diego Public Library Programming at San Diego ComicCon
• Book giveaways at ALA Midwinter, ALA annual, the Brooklyn Book Festival, and Small Press Expo in Bethesda, MD.
• Graphic novel panels at San Diego ComicCon and NYComicCon.

About the Author
Maria Sweeney is a queer artist who was born in Moldova and grew up in New Jersey. She got her BFA from Moore College of Art and Design. She lives outside of Philadelphia, and when she's not reading or sketching comics, she's snuggling with her tiny dog, Bambi. This is her debut graphic novel.


Book Information
ISBN 9781951491260
Author Maria Sweeney
Format Paperback
Page Count 160
Imprint Street Noise Books
Publisher Street Noise Books