Book Led Connections

Here I Am, I Am Me has Brought People to Me

Hello, everyone!

What a wild time this has been! Summer is here, and the comics festival season is in full swing. Here’s a short list of what’s in this edition:

Table of Contents

1. Here I Am, I Am Me updates

2. School Visits

3. Schedule of upcoming comics festivals

4. What’s next?

1. Here I Am, I Am Me updates

It’s only been three months since Here I Am, I Am Me came out, but it feels so much longer. There have been so many events. So many! I’ve been running workshops as well as promoting the book, so some weeks have been particularly busy.

Kicking it all off was the book launch. THANK YOU to the good folks at An Unlikely Story in Plainville, Mass, for providing an amazing book launch space and for being such a caring team. All went off without a hitch. I also want to give a special shout-out to Lindsay Compton of the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park for being a wonderful interviewer and friend.

Making long-form comics is isolating work. This was especially true while drawing pages in my mom’s basement during the pandemic. I had been itching to connect with people and let people read what I had been working on for so long.

This is exactly why I’ve been pushing myself! I’ve done many book events, public workshops, and three comics festivals. I’ve gone to schools, libraries, bookstores, and the YMCA. I’ve connected with wonderful librarians, teachers, psychologists, cartoonists, and children and celebrated this accomplishment with family and close friends. These photos are a small window into these recent good times.

Because I put this book out in the world, I’ve opened myself up and have been vulnerable to criticism in a way that I wasn’t before. I’ve appreciated it when people have stopped to tell me that a part of the book worked well for them or that they wanted to share it with someone else. That makes me feel like the promotion part of things has all been worthwhile. And if you’re one of those folks, thank you!

2. School Visits

I have visited four schools since the book’s release! I will admit that this part of being an author is intimidating. I had to muster the courage to be on stage and perform aspects of my book for large crowds. This is so different from the drawing workshops that I am more comfortable with.

My most recent visit was with Beverly Middle School. I collected questions from students about life, creativity, and mental health:

-Why does the bean have a question mark on its head?

-What made you want to make a book about mental health?

-Are you still an art teacher?

-How do you know who your safe person is?

That last question pulled at my heart and made me think about how I gained safe people in my life as a young person and even today. How do we know who is trustworthy and feels safe to talk to? What is a good way to explain this to a young person? Feel free to share any reflections that you have on that question. I’ve been thinking about it ever since it was asked of me!

The Superintendent Dr. André Morgan who invited me to the school was kind enough to write a blurb that I want to share:

Author, Cara Bean gave an outstanding presentation to our 6th and 7th grade students on her book, Here I Am, I Am Me: An Illustrated Guide to Mental Health. Our students appreciated hearing and learning from Cara as she taught about mental health through illustrative characters. Cara’s discussion on the varied aspects of mental health, enabled students to start considering what is happening with their feelings and emotions daily.  By interacting with Cara, students were able to see that actual people create the books they read, and our staff trusts this connection has made literature more relatable and engaging, encouraging even reluctant readers to explore different genres. What was equally impressive was Cara's transparency in her responses to student inquiries, which clearly impacted some of the students’ aspirations. As one student shared while leaving the presentation, “I feel like my ideas are now worth sharing with my family, classmates and teachers.” 

---André Morgan, Ph.D., Ed.L.D., Chief Opportunity, Access and Equity Officer

3. Schedule of upcoming comics festivals

In just ten days I will leave the country with my partner, and we will be in Ireland to discuss comics and mental health at the Graphic Medicine Conference. I am so excited to have this opportunity and promise to bring my sketchbook and take notes.

Here is my list of upcoming festivals:

GRAPHIC MEDICINE CONFERENCE
Athlone, Ireland
July 17th & 18th

SMALL PRESS EXPO
Bethesda, Maryland
September 13th & 14th

CARTOON CROSSROADS COLUMBUS (CXC)
Columbus, Ohio
September 28th & 29th

I will be involved with even more shows in fall and winter that have not been announced yet. Stay tuned!

Check out the schedule of events on my website for drawing and comics workshops in Massachusetts and Connecticut to attend this summer. All sessions are free.

4. What’s next?

Bringing this book into the world has been the most exciting thing I have ever done. If I’m being honest, I am amazed that I did it and that the book exists. How is it real? I’m still shocked to find it in bookstores. I’m so grateful to the brilliant experts, friends, and editors who guided me to its conclusion.

There isn’t a guidebook that I know of for the path that I am on. Even though the work of creating the book is complete, the work of promoting the book has only begun. There is a lot more work to do toward connecting with people and organizations to break the stigma about discussing mental health topics. I want my book to serve as a connecting point between kids and adults for important conversations and I’m eager to collaborate with schools in the coming year to make this happen.

Thanks for being here with me!

-Cara

P.S.
If you don’t mind, head over to Goodreads and give my book a rating or review to boost it! Thanks!