Look Again

Trembley cracks open her own fragile frame of memory to find a better understanding of a traumatic event. Decades earlier, walking her dogs in the woods, Trembley discovered a dead body sprawled over a tree. Fearing a possible murderer hiding nearby, she reacted in a panic that led her deeper into the woods. She eventually called the police, but the rest of the day disappeared into a haze of shock. In six separate sections, she tells and retells her tale more fully, reconstructs her lost afternoon, is surprised by what she discovers, and finally finds herself able to examine the day she had built such barriers around. In doing so, she comes to a better understanding of herself, including the fear the experience reflected around her queer identity. Trembley also explores perspectives from trauma psychology literature and explicates her use of comics, particularly focusing on the meaning concealed and communicated in gaps between panels. Her drawing style is intentionally rough, functional black and white, by turns etched and scribbled.