In the form of an extended, illustrated letter to her young daughter, Teresa Wong shares the difficulties she experienced after her pregnancy in her graphic novel Dear Scarlet.

Wong sets the stage by introducing her husband and illustrating her daughter's birth. It's then that the troubles begin, with forgetful nurses, physical exhaustion and discomfort, and pressure to breastfeed. Wong struggles with feelings of inadequacy and isolation until an accurate diagnosis of depression, proper medication, and outside help slowly begin to improve her life.

Throughout everything, Wong's husband seems to be everything she needs, which only emphasizes how difficult postpartum depression might be for a woman without such support. Wong's own mother also helps, taking care of daughter and granddaughter and perhaps giving hope to those who don't feel maternally inclined immediately after childbirth that there are many ways to be a good mother, at many different times in a child's life.

Wong's black-and-white drawings are simple but effective. This is a book that benefits tremendously from the sense of intimacy that a single author-illustrator can generate. Near the book's end, Wong tells her daughter why she has shared all of this with her: "I wanted to show you that you don't always have to be strong. / And that you can come back after losing yourself." There are many people, not just new mothers, who can find inspiration in that message, and in the heartfelt and utterly honest Dear Scarlet.

Framed as a letter to Wong's daughter, this candid graphic novel chronicles Wong's difficult transition to motherhood, including immediate postpartum depression. Though her husband does what he can to support her, and her mother tries to help by bringing traditional Chinese food for strengthening new mothers—pickled pigs' feet and ginger, pork liver soup—Wong has trouble bonding, breast-feeding, figuring out how to fill the long days alone with the baby, and functioning in general. Descending into despair, she wonders, "Why am I so bad at this?" Wong confronts her depression and articulates well the ambivalent and negative feelings that are often treated as taboo; one full-page image shows a cutaway of her head thinking such thoughts as "She'd be better off without me" and "Babies are really boring." The spare art consists mostly of simple, sketchy figures with wobbly expressions; while unpracticed, it also feels true to Wong's state of anxiety. This raw but reassuring memoir filled with helpful suggestions to mothers struggling with similar situations and feelings is sure to resonate with many new parents. (Apr.)