This Terrible True Thing – A Visual Novel
Written and Illustrated by Jenny Laden
from Blackstone Publishing
In this heartbreaking multimedia debut–filled with drawings, poems, and journal entries–author Jenny Laden draws on her own experience to create a story of grief and transcendence, perfect for fans of Francesca Zappia and Jennifer Niven.
Danielle Silver is a Philadelphia high school senior at the dawn of the ’90s. Ever since her parents split up, she has known her father was gay, but she never expected to be hit with the bombshell that he is HIV positive. As he sickens, and AIDS starts to claim the lives of his friends, Danielle searches for silver linings while trying to balance paralyzing fear, grief, her social life, and schoolwork–capturing all the feelings as adolescence and some hard facts collide.
JENNY LADEN was born in Philadelphia and began painting at the age of nine. After mastering paintings of oranges and boots, she moved on to the human figure. She studied art and art history at Barnard College and received her master’s degree in fine art from New York University. She has exhibited in New York; Chicago; Washington, DC; McClean; Richmond; Miami; Philadelphia; San Francisco; and Berlin, and had work in multiple publications.