Cara Gormally: Everything Is Fine, I'll Just Work Harder
Sunday, October 26, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
@ mary Riley Styles Public Library, 120 N. Virginia Ave, Falls Church
Join us at Mary Riley Styles Public Library in Falls Church for a discussion with Cara Gormally, author of the graphic memoir Everything is Fine, I'll Just Work Harder, a story of living with the aftermath of trauma and learning how to heal afterwards. The author will discuss how they became a cartoonist, describe their artistic process, and share an excerpt from the book. This event is cosponsored by the Falls Church City Schools Pride Alliance.
This is a story about how therapy to heal from sexual assault trauma led down an unexpected path to reckon with even older wounds of familial homophobia. This book interweaves research and memoir to illustrate the story of how we find our way back to ourselves.
About EVERYTHING IS FINE, I'LL JUST WORK HARDER: One queer person bravely and creatively uses therapy to navigate the healing from the trauma of a past sexual assault. One day, during an ordinary early-morning run, Cara's watch dinged with a Facebook friend request. But when they checked the message, the photo slammed them backward in time and froze them in fear. Their rapist wanted to "friend" them.
Cara always had a long to-do list; always had many projects; always was busy. But as their rapist continued to send friend requests and tried to reconnect with them, they began to lose their grip on their work, projects, and relationships. But then Cara connects with a therapist who guides them through a long but powerful process of healing. And Cara works to desensitize, reprocess, excavate and relive the old wounds in order to move past them and heal.
About the author: Cara Gormally (they/them) is a cartoonist, researcher, and professor. Their comics have appeared in The Washington Post, Mutha Magazine, Spiralbound, among others. Cara is the recipient of grants, fellowships, and residencies from the National Science Foundation, the American Association of University Women, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They earned a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia and they are currently a professor at Gallaudet University. Cara lives in the DC metro area with their partner Andrea and their child.
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