Polar Vortex : : a Family Memoir

Locations
Call Number: Adult Graphic Novel / Dorrance, Denise, Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Dorrance, Denise
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Adult Graphic Novel / Dorrance, Denise	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 1st Floor 4-week checkout	Adult Graphic Novel / Dorrance, Denise	4-week checkout	Due 12-31-2025
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Dorrance, Denise	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Dorrance, Denise	4-week checkout	Due 01-07-2026
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Dorrance, Denise	4-week checkout	Due 12-15-2025
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Comics & Graphic Novels / Nonfiction / Biography / Dorrance, Denise	4-week checkout	Due 01-07-2026

Originally published in the United Kingdom by New River Books. First published in North America in revised form by the Experiment, LLC.
"For fans of Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, a poignant, stirring graphic memoir--both heartbreaking and darkly funny--that perfectly captures the grief, nostalgia, and chaos of traveling home to care for an elderly parent in crisis" - Publisher's description.
What do you do when your mother can't remember who you are? You catch the first flight from your adopted home of London to your original hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where she's hospitalized, injured, and struggling with the swirling disorientation of dementia. You take responsibility for finding her new (and, perhaps, final) home--although insurance is running out and you might have to finally patch up your bitter relationship with your sister. And you try not to think about death, lurking around every corner... or the coming polar vortex, growing closer and closer as snowflakes swirl ever faster outside. With cinematic illustrations and moving yet humorous prose, award-winning author and cartoonist Denise Dorrance shares the two most haywire months of her life: the phone call after her mother is discovered lying confused on the living room floor, the mingled shock and familiarity of a harsh Midwestern midwinter, the attempt to settle her homesick mother into a care facility, the limiting and limitless inanities of the US health care system, and the impossible decisions about what comes next. Incorporating vintage postcards, photographs, and letters, Dorrance brilliantly captures the sadness, frustration, and gallows humor of suddenly having to care for an aging parent and facing the moment of transition between life as you've long known it and life as it must become. - Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Dementia submitted by 21621032124198 on September 14, 2024, 9:33am Great graphic novel about the complexities of dementia care, navigating the health care system, and how difficult it can be to make decisions on behalf of someone with memory loss. Highly recommend!

powerful submitted by camelsamba on July 2, 2025, 11:27pm Interesting and powerful insight into elder care in America. The author/artist has to rush back to Iowa from England when her elderly mother has a health setback, and becomes aware of just how bad her mother's dementia is. No easy decisions at that point (especially given our fragmented health care system).