‘Relatively Indolent But Relentless’: Journal of journey through cancer treatment turned into graphic novel

Matt Freedman began a handwritten journal on Oct. 3, 2012. The visual artist, who is a graduate of the University of Iowa, filled four pages each day through Dec. 1, recounting his experiences as he underwent arduous treatment for a rare cancer. The journal has been published as 'Relatively Indolent But Relentless” (Seven Stories Press, 240 pages, $23.95), and it is both harrowing and quietly inspiring.

A good portion of the book's power is due to the decision to reproduce the journal as Freedman created it. The words on the page are his handwritten text, illuminated by his sketches. The reader's experience is, as a result, more intimate than it might be if the same text were rendered in type. We see Freedman's thoughts develop on the page, and we note changes in his handwriting - made up entirely of printed capital letters - or his drawings as his treatment ebbs and flows. We are witness to his setbacks and his victories as they pour out on the page.

Freedman makes it plain he rejects the notion that his bearing up in the face of suffering is in anyway inspiring, arguing that we all just do the best we can in any given situation. He does not believe his experience granted him insight or wisdom regarding the human condition. But Freedman's ordeal reminds us that our lives - made up of joys and terrors and moments far more mundane - require fortitude we may not know we have until we are forced to call upon it.

AUTHOR READING

' What: Matt Freedman reads from 'Relatively Indolent But Relentless”

' IOWA CITY: 7 p.m., Nov. 3, Prairie Lights Books, 15 S. Dubuque Street

' CEDAR RAPIDS: 7 p.m. Nov. 5, Mount Mercy University Visiting Author Series, Betty Cherry Heritage Hall, Mount Mercy University, 1330 Elmhurst Dr. NE

' Cost: Free