Single Mothering

Anna Härmälä grew up in Vantaa near Helsinki and always knew she was going to work in the arts. Her parents encouraged her interest by allowing her to try out theatre and arts clubs. Later she studied art and visual communication in Finland and Norway, and she has an MA from Bergen Academy of Art and Design. She has also written and illustrated several picture books published in Finland and Sweden, and has been head of her school's art department for more than ten years. She started sharing her comics online to see if they resonated with the experience of other single mothers, but this is her first graphic novel.

Härmälä's Single Mothering is an honest and funny reveal of the cult of motherhood and parenting. With a colourful and emotive drawing style, the book tells a deeply relatable story of expectations and grief when things do not work out as one planned. I loved the read and it filled me with empathy for anyone having to do single mothering, be it for a short period of time or for longer, out of choice or not.