SLCL Presents Graphic Novel Author and Comics Artist Sacha Mardou

St. Louis County Library Foundation’s Favorite Author Series and Left Bank Books are pleased to host graphic novel author and comics artist Sacha Mardou for a discussion and signing of “Past Tense: Family Secrets and Finding Myself in Therapy.”

The event will take place on Wednesday, October 16, 7:00 p.m. at the Clark Family Branch, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd, St. Louis MO 63131.

When Sacha Mardou turned 40-years-old, she was leading a life that looked perfect on the outside: happily married to the love of her life, enjoying motherhood and her six-year-old daughter, and her first book had just been published. But for reasons she couldn’t explain, the anxiety that had always plagued her only seemed to be getting worse.

The product of a stoic, working-class British family, Sacha had a deeply seeded distrust of mental health treatment, but now, desperate for relief, she finds herself in a therapist’s office for the first time. There she begins the real work of growing up: learning to understand the childhood trauma she thought she’d left hidden in the past.

“Past Tense” takes us inside Sacha’s therapy sessions, which over time become life-changing. As Sacha’s emotional life begins to unfreeze and she lets go of the shame she’s long held, she realizes that the work she’s doing and her love for her family can ripple outward too, changing her relationships now, and creating a new legacy for her daughter.

Bravely told, visceral, and profoundly moving, “Past Tense” is a story about our power to break free of the past--once and for all–and find hope.

Sacha Mardou studied English Literature at the University of Wales and started making comics in the late 1990s. Her previous work includes the serially-released graphic novel “Sky in Stereo,” which was Ignatz-nominated (for Best Series 2014), named an Outstanding Comic of 2015 (The Village Voice) and shortlisted for the Slate Studio Award (2016). Her online therapy comics have been featured in The Huffington Post and Bored Panda. 

Program sites are accessible. With at least two weeks' notice, accommodations will be made for persons with disabilities. Call 314-994-3300 or contact us.