Reviews

Dancing After TEN by Vivian Chong, Georgia Webber

scottt's review

emotional inspiring fast-paced

4.75

crankyisgood's review

5.0

Perhaps being a musician and an adventure-seeker led Vivian from Hong Kong to Toronto and to St Martin and to her eventual recovery and celebration of her life and experiences after TEN (toxic epidermal necrolysis) dramatically changed her body. The story of how she and Georgia Webber, along with Kathleen Rea, created the book makes it worth another read. It’s really a complete story and yet as I write this I think, I want to know more about the relationships and the feelings. (Though maybe not the two men in her life early on… hm.) Apologies to anyone who doesn’t enjoy pondering in a book review.

meganamato's review

5.0

Wow. Just....wow. This is an absolutely beautiful, heart-wrenching, inspirational book. I love the style of the art and the story is just...wow. Vivian is one strong woman. Thank you to Georgia Webber for helping her share her story in such a wonderful way.

saddrag0n's review

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

thatsoneforthebooks's review

5.0

This is an incredible graphic memoir blending pain and humor of Ching's experience with TENS, detailing how TENS overturned her life, but also how she overcame the struggles she faced over the 15 years that followed. The partnership between Chong and Webber described at the end in creating this book really makes this special - truly an adaptive, creative process, blending illustrations by Webber and Chong. Definitely worth the read!

kricketa's review

4.0

While on vacation, Vivian Chong took an ibuprofen, contracted toxic epidermal necrolysis, and woke up two months later to a very different life. She and Georgia Webber collaborated on this book, much of which Vivian recorded in the brief window of time when she had sight, which she ultimately lost. The artwork does a beautiful job capturing the suck of living with unpredictable body problems and the fear that can generate, and walking that fine line between hope and acceptance. Watching Vivian expand her life even without sight was very poignant.

emeraldreverie's review

4.0

Hugely powerful and rattling and raw. Fascinating and devastating. Unique with much to teach.

gemmapz's review

5.0

Vivian Chong and Georgia Webber work together to tell the story of Vivian Chong’s life after becoming blind from a rare condition. She unflinchingly tells her story, and while sharing her emotions, she doesn’t seem to feel sorry for herself. In the story we get to see the worst, and the best of humanity. Very much worth the read!

pebbletown's review

3.0

3.5, really! I’ve read Georgia Webber’s memoir “Dumb,” which was really well done but I found underwhelming— her style is just so tidy, whereas Vivian’s contributions in this book are just so much more willing to be vivid and ugly and harsh.

But both books were really profound and spoke to how little people understand disability or know how to react to it. I feel like so many disabled narratives expect people to be thankful to all those who helped them along the way— Vivian dedicated this book to her eyes instead! Fuck all of the cruel doctors and strangers and carers, and men who leave their female partners after disability and who should die, maybe :)

Seeing their two styles next to each other really highlighted the things I don’t love about Webber’s work, but I love that these two found each other and brought this to life together.

missmeganmann's review

challenging dark hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

4.5

This was definitely difficult to read. Inspiring and hopeful, yes, but also…sad. How can anyone just leave someone they know and have cared for in life to die in a hospital because of something THEIR FAMILY did? And then none of them tried to help. It was so sad.

But she’s so optimistic and has such tenacity and a zest for life. It’s admirable.