Through a Life

Book excerpt: This powerfully silent graphic novel follows the saga of a boy who grows up to be an astronaut, just like he always wanted, until a fatal space shuttle crash upends his life, and he begins to find solace in beauty here on earth. Told through a series of poignant vignettes, Through A Life is a sweeping story of dreams, expectations, nature, and loss. Rodney spends his life looking through. Windows give way to screens as he comes of age dreaming of what lies beyond Earth's atmosphere. This powerfully silent graphic novel follows the saga of a boy who grows up to be an astronaut, just like he always wanted, until a fatal space shuttle crash upends his life, and he begins to find solace in the beauty here on earth. "This nearly wordless graphic novel . . . is like one extended gut punch over the course of 200 pages . . . Constructed of gorgeous, flat screen-print style drawings, a whole life comes to pass without a line of narration or dialogue—love and its failings, depression, and a tragedy in space that keeps the protagonist tethered forever to earth."—Kristen Radtke, The Believer