How to Deal

Book excerpt: This "fight or flight" manual for life (the fake one you live on the internet and the one you actually live) will help you power through your worst days so you can enjoy the good ones. “I’m not here asking you to fix yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you, okay? I know that how my day goes depends on whether I wake up full of hope or despair. It’s not about what’s happening, it’s about my relationship to what’s happening, you know?” –Grace Miceli, from How to Deal Dealing with ourselves requires . . . a lot. On the good days, it takes patience and humor; on the bad, it can devolve into online shopping sprees, over-analyzing the punctuation from every text message you receive or baking 4 dozen cookies—for ourselves. In this relatable and hilarious collection of comic strips, modern day motivational posters, and illustrated lists and diary entries, illustrator Grace Miceli explores how our comfort zones may be a trap, how to stay when you want to run away, and where to find light when everything feels dark—beyond the glow of your phone. This sharply observed book is a "fight or flight" manual for life (the fake one you live on the internet and the one you actually live), a weird but honest road map from a friend who wants to make it just that much easier for you to navigate your own journey.