Description

The acclaimed debut graphic memoir by the author of Fetch: “a beautiful and innovative portrait” of young adulthood and confronting family secrets (NPR).

When Nicole Georges was two years old, her mother told her that her father was dead. When she was twenty-three, a psychic told her he was alive. Her half-sister, saddled with guilt, admits that the psychic is right and that the whole family has conspired to keep him a secret. Sent into a tailspin about her identity, Nicole turns to radio talk-show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger for advice.

Packed cover-to-cover with heartfelt and disarming black-and-white illustrations, Calling Dr. Laura tells the story of what happens to you when you are raised in a family of secrets, and what happens to your brain—and heart—when you learn the truth from an unlikely source.

Part coming-of-age and part coming-out story, Calling Dr. Laura is “a tragicomic graphic memoir with a stunning indie aesthetic” (Bookslut).

About the Author

Nicole J. Georges is a professor, writer, and illustrator, who has been publishing her own zines and comics for twenty years. She is the author of the Lambda Award-winning graphic memoir Calling Dr. Laura and the diary comic Invincible Summer. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Praise For…

"Honest and charming...[Georges] makes her debut as a developed and skilled storyteller."
-Philadelphia Inquirer "A charmer."
-Cleveland Plain Dealer "A bracing debut from a promising graphic novelist that deals with abuse, forgiveness, and family secrets."
-Daily Beast "There's a depth to Georges' work...an intense interest in finding out not just who she is but what it means and why it matters."
-Oregonian A "tart, honest graphic memoir."
-Slate "A tragicomic graphic memoir with a stunning indie aesthetic."
-Bookslut “An engrossing, lovable, smart and ultimately poignant trip through a harrowing emotional bottleneck in family life.  It's great art, great writing, a great story – I can't wait for what's next from Nicole. What a wonderful book.”
-Rachel Maddow "Engaging...incisive...The author approaches [her story] with the tenacity of a detective."
-Publishers Weekly "Nicole Georges spins a riveting family mystery. There's a powerful chemistry going on between her delicate drawings and the probing honesty of her investigations. CALLING DR. LAURA is disarming and haunting, hip and sweet, all at once."
-Alison Bechdel "I wouldn't want to live in a world without Nicole! And now no one has to! This book is a charming little gem. An honest glimpse into the life of a self-employed, smart and witty Portland femme gay with an upbringing so weird it's normal."
-Beth Ditto "Anyone who knows Portland, OR. will know Nicole J. Georges, the witty girl with the cat glasses and a devoted following for her talents as an illustrator and zinester . . . Whatever the results, one can bet that this new work from Georges will be a good time."
-Lambda Literary, "Five New Queer Voices to Watch Out For"   —