“Psychiatric Tales” draws on Darryl Cunningham’s time working in a psychiatric ward to give a reasoned and sympathetic look into the world of mental illness. In each chapter, Cunningham explores a different mental health problem, using evocative imagery to describe the experience of mental illness, both from the point of view of those beset by illness and their friends and relatives. As Cunningham reveals this human experience, he also shows how society’s perceptions of and reactions to mental illness perpetuate needless stigma, for example, the myth that schizophrenic people are more likely to commit crimes than non-schizophrenic people. “Psychiatric Tales” is a groundbreaking graphic work; it deftly demythologizes and destigmatizes the disorders that 26.2 percent of American adults (and roughly 1-in-5 Canadians) live with every day. Concluding with a reflection on how mental illness has affected his own life, Darryl Cunningham’s “Psychiatric Tales” is a moving, engaging examination of what is, at its root, the human condition.

The strips are brilliantly written and drawn, and do something quite rare in discussion of mental illness – they manage to capture both the experience of people with psychiatric difficulties and the experience of the staff caring for them.

As someone who suffers from anxiety and depression, I think this drawing is an excellent representation of what life with a mood disorder is like. While life may not always be as simple as black and white, the shades of gray can be very difficult to get through. When I get to this point, I try to add some colour to my world, and work with and through whatever I may be feeling or dealing with at that time.

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