Alison Garwood Jones

Beyond the reach of tech

August 27, 2024

Longing for yourself is an ache that most people are familiar with, even if they can’t explain it. Attentiveness is an effective way to ease that ache. So is self-reliance.

Attentiveness and self-reliance can take you to a realm that is beyond technology’s reach. This mysterious realm hovers above the Google search bar and AI’s prompt box, and it’s not always accessible despite multiple takeoff attempts to get there. This place is where ideas and art spark and oxygen is abundant.

Many humans have found that the introduction of technology inside this realm consistently thwarts combustion and thins the air. The heat and light that we can sometimes managed to coax into being fizzles upon contact with apps, along with our sense of self.

May experience grant us all the courage, wisdom and serenity to know when and where technology can best serve us.

Kurt Vonnegut by Alison Garwood-Jones

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My Mother’s Spice Tins

August 1, 2024

In 2021, Benjamin Dreyer, the former managing editor and copy chief at Random House, wrote a beautiful piece for his Substack newsletter. “The First Withouts” describes his life during the year after his mother, Diana, died at 91.

In his first dream about her, mother and son went right back to FaceTiming each other, she joking that she couldn’t make their next dinner date. Surely this is proof that our own bodies and brains are designed to support us, offering comfort through humour just when we need it most.

Other memories about Diana tumbled forth during that year of firsts: past conversations about her tastiest recipe (“You roasted CANNED potatoes for us?!”). Then there was the frequently made observation that Anne Frank was born five weeks before his mother. And yet, there was Diana Dreyer, decades later, “living on the Upper West Side, free to read her books, play computer solitaire, and make the occasional trip to Broadway or Lincoln Center to take in this play or that musical.”

One detail that Benjamin posted confirmed all the ways that orphaned adults are unknowingly connected. Diana liked to dust those roast potatoes with paprika. It was one of her son’s strongest sensory memories of her. When he was cleaning out her apartment, he found a 40-year-old tin of McCormick’s paprika.

Diana Dreyer's Paprika tin

Like Benjamin, I was struck by the time capsule hidden away in my mother’s kitchen. Our 40-year-old spice tins were from Club House (“Our Mission Is to Help Canadians Live Happier and Healthier Lives Through Rich Flavours.”) Benjamin took a picture of Diana’s tins (above), and I made a drawing of my mum’s (below). The humour of the moment inspired each of us to make a record of the life and times of our parents. And for anyone who enjoys a company’s branding history, there’s that.

Spice tins from I Miss My Mommy: 150 Portraits of Orphaned Adults

This drawing appears on page 46 of my book, I MISS MY MOMMY: 150 Portraits of Orphaned Adults.

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My book is heading to the library

July 29, 2024

I Miss My Mommy: 150 Portraits of Orphaned Adults will soon be available at the Toronto Public Library

My graphic novel, I Miss My Mommy: 150 Portraits of Orphaned Adults, will be available at the Toronto Public Library.

👐Jazz hands👐- Thank you to the team in the purchasing department at the Toronto Public Library who contacted me yesterday to let me know that they were buying multiple copies of I MISS MY MOMMY, my new book about the grief of orphaned adults.

I Miss My Mommy: 150 Portraits of Orphaned Adults by Alison Garwood-Jones

For an indie publishing house like mine, that was a definite distribution victory. My bookstore and print shop is Pen Jar Productions.

Fun fact: The TPL has 100 branches and a higher circulation per capita than any other public library system, making it the largest neighbourhood-based library system in the world. Torontonians are readers! 

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How I Learned to Promote My Graphic Novel

July 10, 2024

I’ve had to learn how to promote my graphic novel to reach my audience. It’s like building a house from the ground up.

Today I wanted to share and promote the work of my best teachers.

Eleanor, Matt, Lauren and Joe are big believers in teaching writers to connect with their audiences by embracing a more entrepreneurial role in their careers.

If you are in the process of reimagining your writing career, this post might help.

How I learned to promote my graphic novel by Alison Garwood-JonesHow I learned to promote my graphic novel by Alison Garwood-Jones

How I learned to promote my graphic novel by Alison Garwood-JonesHow I learned to promote my graphic novel by Alison Garwood-JonesI Miss My Mommy is my new graphic novel from my imprint, PenJarProductions.com. I was the overall art director in charge of writing, illustrating, doing the initial layout, hiring more experienced book designers, and choosing the best possible copy editor. I set up the website to sell the book and I’m the one who’ll have to pay off the line of credit that financed it. This slideshow shows that my incentives for embracing entrepreneurship are real and exciting.

 

 

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Cutting Room Floor

July 4, 2024

Snoopy and Roz Chast drawing by Alison Garwood-Jones

This drawing never made it into my book, I Miss My Mommy: 150 Portraits of Orphaned Adults

CUTTING ROOM FLOOR

Like Kevin Costner in The Big Chill, this drawing never made it into I MISS MY MOMMY, my graphic novel about the long and winding grief journey of orphaned adults.

Copyright is the reason. Any dog that looks like Snoopy, like any mouse that looks like Mickey, won’t get past the bank of attorneys at Peanuts Worldwide.

So I redrew the dog, turned him into a more realistic spotted beagle, and still had him sitting on a green tufted sofa next to … you guessed it, Roz Chast. But, by then, the drawing had stopped working.

Despite that, I still wrote a handwritten note to Ms. Chast, asking for permission to use her likeness and pre-War Brooklyn apartment decor for a drawing meant to be a seriously deep genuflection before two of my favourite artists.

In one scenario, she glanced at the drawing and also determined it wasn’t working. More realistically, my letter is still sitting in her in-bin. Chast has been on the road promoting her latest book, I Must Be Dreaming, about the absurdities and fraught sequences that run through our minds at night.

It’s another splendid tour of the human condition.

Thank you, Roz, for everything.

And Happy (?) Fourth of July.

Alison xo

________________________________________

I MISS MY MOMMY: 150 Portraits of Orphaned Adults is available at PenJarProductions.com – link in bio.

This book takes you right to the heart of the five stages of grief through 150 portraits, some grim, some funny, but all relatable.

The stage you’re in may change by the hour, or even by the minute.

It helps readers struggling with grief sit with emotions they’d rather avoid but can’t stop feeling, but it does it through illustrations not case studies.

Because sometimes we need images to explain the language of loss. ~ Printed and shipped with care by @luludotcom

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What is your grief story?

June 27, 2024

My Mother Had Alzheimer's by Alison Garwood-Jones
My Mother Had Alzheimer's by Alison Garwood-Jones
My Mother Had Alzheimer's by Alison Garwood-Jones
My Mother Had Alzheimer's by Alison Garwood-Jones
My Mother Had Alzheimer's by Alison Garwood-Jones

I Miss My Mommy takes you right to the heart of the five stages of grief through 150 portraits, some grim, some funny, but all relatable.
The stage you’re in may change by the hour, or even by the minute.

This book helps readers struggling with grief sit with emotions they’d rather avoid but can’t stop feeling.

“You’ll find yourself in the company of many mourners as they experience all the stages. It’s a powerful reminder that you’re not alone.” ~ Ann Douglas, Navigating The Messy Middle

“I had been looking for validation for my need to grieve and I found it in I Miss My Mommy.” ~ Carla Lucchetta, producer, The Agenda With Steve Paikin

Available at PenJarProductions.com

Printed and shipped with care by @luludotcom

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Father’s Day

June 13, 2024

REMEMBERING DADS

My new book is called I Miss My Mommy, but fathers are just as integral to the story for orphaned adults.

For Father’s Day, here’s a preview of how dads, now gone, weave in and out of the stories of their adult kids’ lives.

Because sometimes we need images to explain the language of loss.

  1. Pete refuses to get rid of his dad’s Birkenstocks. They’re proof that he was on this earth. ~ P. 174 
  2. “My dad once said to me, ‘I’m giving you the greatest gift a father could ever give a son: I’m not very successful.’” ~ David Duchovny~ P. 103 – 
  3.   “Hi Daddy! Hi Mommy!” is the first thing Tammy says every morning. She can feel the dopamine hit when she speaks their names.~ P. 260 
  4. After her mom and dad died, Melissa got a letter from her dad’s first boyfriend. ~P. 238
  5. Russell was adopted at birth. His white parents didn’t know they were supposed to have the “police talk” with him. He learned that on his own. ~P. 234 
  6. What kind of father tells his sons “You’re either a killer or a loser”?  ~ P. 111
  7. Bill anticipated the squabbling between his middle-aged kids. ~P. 107
  8. Gord’s father was never convicted. Now it’s too late. ~P. 80
  9. Basil inherited his mother’s depression and his dad’s knitted ties. ~ p. 73
  10. When Tamara gets a piece of good news, she still picks up the phone to tell her dad. ~P. 51

I Miss My Mommy is the picture book for big people without parents.

It’s available at PenJarProductions.com ~ Printed and shipped with care by Lulu.com

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Summer Giveaway

June 7, 2024

Book giveaway for I Miss My Mommy, the graphic novel for orphaned adults

GIVEAWAY
Thank you to my readers from Toronto to San Francisco to New York and back for letting me know that your copy of I MISS MY MOMMY has landed on your doorstep (h/t @luludotcom) 📚

YOUR TURN
Let’s start a conversation about grief. I’d love a short social media review of my book (up to 150 words written or filmed) from you:
• How did the book make you feel?
• Did it validate your need to grieve? Briefly explain.
• Which character in the book did you relate to the most?
• Why would you recommend I MISS MY MOMMY to someone else?

INSTRUCTIONS
Please tag me @AlisonGJ and my tiny imprint @PenJarProductions in your review. Then tag a friend who may need this book. Lastly, take a picture of you holding the book! Recommended platforms: FB, IG and TikTok.

Hashtags you can use: #OrphanedAdults#BooksOnGrief #FiveStagesOfGrief #GriefResources

YOUR PRIZE
Reviewers will receive a free high-res copy of their favourite drawing from the book to print, frame and hang in their home! (Frame not included. Filters may vary. Mock-ups are fictional – FrameIt app).

To receive your drawing, email me at Alison.GarwoodJones(at)gmail(dot)com
— Please include a link to your review(s), then state the page number of the drawing you would like.

GIVEAWAY ENDS: July 6th, 2024.

I MISS MY MOMMY is the world’s first picture book for big people without parents.

** The book takes readers right to the heart of the five stages of grief through 150 portraits, some grim, some funny, but all relatable. The stage you’re in may change by the hour, or even the minute. I hope my book helps readers struggling with grief sit with emotions they’d rather avoid but can’t stop feeling.**

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Press for I Miss My Mommy

June 7, 2024

Anne Bokma’s compelling Mother’s Day column in today’s Hamilton Spectator shows how fraught Mother’s Day can be for adult orphans, particularly women. For others, it’s liberating, especially if their grief is complicated.

Thank you, Anne, for being such an astute interviewer (boy, can she write!) and for making my new book, I MISS MY MOMMY, a part of your story. The headline may be blunt, but so is death. So, make haste.

Press from The Hamilton Spectator for I Miss My Mommy by Alison Garwood-Jones

Press from The Hamilton Spectator for I Miss My Mommy by Alison Garwood-Jones

Press from The Hamilton Spectator for I Miss My Mommy by Alison Garwood-Jones

Press from The Hamilton Spectator for I Miss My Mommy by Alison Garwood-Jones

Addendum: Catherine Garwood-Jones worked full-time outside the home as the manager and accountant at Trevor Garwood-Jones Architects. She also gave her energy to organizations and causes she cared about (The Hamilton Philharmonic) and mental health (Hamilton Health Sciences). In one memorable scene in the early 1980s, she marched up the steps of Queen’s Park (Ontario’s legislature) and pitched the provincial health minister in his office on the importance of providing more funding for research into schizophrenia. It worked.

My book is printed and shipped with care by @luludotcom

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The Queen of Death

June 7, 2024

Alison Garwood-Jones author page for I Miss My Mommy: 150 Portraits of Orphaned Adults

I didn’t set out to create a book on grief …

Hi, I’m Alison. As a magazine writer, I’ve interviewed:
• Olympic boxers
• Presidential candidates*
• Mayoral candidates**
• Legendary art directors***
• Famous because they’re famous types****
• TV stars
• PhDs
• Scientists
• CEOs
• Age-defying dermatologists
• Starchitects
• Bro-ey Chefs
• Prima Ballerinas

I could have kept adding to this list, but grief felt more insistent than the voices of all of the above combined.

Just before the pandemic, I started drawing fictional portraits of people in different stages of grief and organizing them into a narrative arc.

When I realized what I was doing, I opened a Google Doc and asked myself: “Alison, do you really want to lead a discussion on grief?”

The answer was: NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! All-capped and bolded for emphasis. Then underlined twice. I am not the Queen of Death, I thought. My feet are sheathed in ballet flats and my earlobes have tiny pearl drops on display. Let’s stick to that.

And, yet, here I am.

I consider I MISS MY MOMMY, my new graphic novel on grief, to be the ultimate act of leaning into your fear. In the morning the thought of what I am doing drags me down. But when I connect with my readers, or one-on-one IRL (like I did last night in the park next to my house), it buoys me and I float home like a big red balloon.

If your grief is looking for a safe place to land, perhaps my book will help you.

Alison Garwood-Jones

 

 

* Robert Kennedy Jr. when he was still fighting for the environment.
** Rob Ford (it’s true, he did call everyone back).
*** George Lois. Legend. (I emailed him when Muhammad Ali died and he tapped out such an emotional response).
**** Paris Hilton (at the height of her perfume empire).

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