lost in the middle
Over 200,000 kids in the U.S. lost a parent or caregiver to COVID. Many were left grieving without resources that truly worked for them, because traditional, clinical approaches don’t always resonate with kids.
The New York Life Foundation wanted to create something that would actually help children and families process their grief. So we created a 200-page graphic novel, in both English and Spanish, to help kids cope with losses big and small.
With the help of Will Reeve, son of Superman actor Christopher Reeve, we launched it at Comic Con and put grief support center stage.
Comic Con attendees could step inside the story, with a classroom ripped straight from the pages of our graphic novel.
Animated trailer for “Lost in the Middle.”
SO HOW DO YOU MAKE A GRAPHIC NOVEL?
First we held focus groups with actual middle schoolers to better understand how they think, feel and act. Then we worked with clinical psychologists to ensure each character in our book had a unique and authentic experience with loss.
The final manuscript was 200 pages of narration, dialogue, text exchanges, dream sequences, flashbacks, social media posts, and of course, illustrations. It was the most intensely organized Google Doc I’ve ever written.
We then handed the manuscript over to Spanish Illustrator, Genie Espinosa, who helped bring the project to life.
Together, we got from the manuscript below to the extremely satisfying and cathartic printing stage.
Throughout the book, QR codes let kids scan to receive videos directly from our characters.