Grandmother-grandchild duo publish illustrated book about coping with anxiety

In an unconventional creative partnership, grandmother and grandchild duo Mary and Micah Amundsen have teamed up to share important lessons about coping with anxiety.

Their graphic novel Molly’s Anxiety depicts their dog’s apprehension of the unfamiliar smells of mice at their lake house — and delivers a broader message of how to work through fears in the trying times of the pandemic.

“I was a counselor in a past career and was thinking about how we deal with our own anxiety.” said Mary. “At that time in October, we were extremely anxious about Covid, we didn’t have a vaccine, and we didn’t know what was going on.”

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Collaborating with her grandchild, Mary wrote the plot while Micah created the graphics. 

Drawn to comics since picking up Japanese Manga at a book fair in middle school, Micah is a graphic designer who creates webcomics and other graphic art. They described their style as “minimalist realism,” drawing characters cartoon-like but also having detailed backgrounds.

For this project, Micah created the illustrations digitally and used a brush with a soft edge so the drawings had a watercolor texture. 

“While drawing the main character, I asked ‘Can I make it look like you Grandma?’” said Micah. “And she said, ‘Sure, but with no wrinkles.’”

While collaborating back and forth was an enjoyable and bonding experience, both Mary and Micah believe the finished product is an important learning tool for others. 

“I would say that it’s really a book that applies to all ages,” said Mary. “I know young people really like the graphic art, but I think the message of how we deal with anxiety applies to all of us.”

Books are available for purchase at The Book Review and online for $5. 

Haley Handelman is a summer news intern for Med City Beat. A graduate of Mayo High School, she now studies at Northwestern University.