THE IMPOSTOR'S DAUGHTER - Serio Comics 31
THE IMPOSTOR'S DAUGHTER written and drawn by Laurie Sandell, published by Little, Brown
A week before Father’s day, I had the joy of attending a good friend’s baby shower.
He and I went to USC’s School of Cinematic Arts together.
And we were selected by a professor to write and executive produce a sitcom pilot, which was later nominated for a Humanitas Prize.
The professor became a mentor both together and separately.
So it was also a pleasure to see the mentor again and meet his partner at the party.
They reminded me that their good friend had published a graphic memoir in 2009.
THE IMPOSTOR’S DAUGHTER
Which I had read back in 2020 when I started collaborating with Gabriel Wexler.
On the illustrations of the project SHOULD WE BUY A GUN?
After the baby shower, the professor and his partner introduced me to this friend, Laurie Sandell, later that week.
And after speaking to her about her publishing experience as I go through my own, I decided to revisit her debut for a Serio Comics enthusiasm!
Laurie Sandell
Laurie Sandell has written for The New York Times, Esquire, GQ, The Hollywood Reporter, Marie Claire, Glamour, New York, Real Simple and InStyle, among other publications, and her cartoons have appeared in Glamour, New York, Redbook and The Wall Street Journal.
Her graphic memoir, The Impostor’s Daughter (Little, Brown, July 2009), about her larger-than-life con artist father was nominated for a 2010 Eisner Award.
And her second book, Truth and Consequences: Life Inside the Madoff Family (Little, Brown, October 2011) was adapted into an Emmy-nominated 2017 HBO film starring Robert DeNiro.
She lives in Studio City, CA.
If you like FUN HOME you may love THE IMPOSTOR’S DAUGHTER!
Many readers who have only read a few works of graphic literature may know Alison Bechdel’s monumental graphic memoir FUN HOME, which came out in 2006.
It may be a godparent of all father/daughter graphic memoirs.
But THE IMPOSTOR’S DAUGHTER which came out in 2009 is its next of kin.
Laurie Sandell grew up in awe (and sometimes in terror) of her larger-than-life father.
Who told jaw-dropping tales of a privileged childhood in Buenos Aires, friendships with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and the Pope, and heroism during Vietnam.
As well as his many academic triumphs.
As a young woman, Laurie unconsciously mirrors her dad, trying on several outsized personalities (Tokyo stripper, lesbian seductress, Ambien addict).
Later, she lucks into the perfect job: interviewing celebrities for a top women's magazine. Growing up with her extraordinary father has given Laurie a knack for relating to the stars.
But while researching an article on her dad's life, she makes an astonishing discovery: he's not the man he says he is -- not even close.
Now, Laurie begins to puzzle together three decades of lies and the splintered person that resulted from them: herself…
Light Aesthetics, Serious Tone
One of my favorite things about this Eisner and Goodreads Choice Award nominated graphic memoir is how its light aesthetics contrast with its serious tone.
For instance, here’s a panel with just visuals and without its dialogue bubble.
Notice how bright, pleasant, and enjoyable it looks.
Now here’s the same panel with the dialogue bubble added back in.
Notice how serious the topic is.
Laurie’s colorful palette and enjoyable drawings are well-designed to balance the darker and somber notes of the story.
Meta-Commentary on Memoir’s Effects on Family
I also deeply respect Laurie’s approach to including the effects of her memoir writing on her family.
Not just her father.
But also her sisters.
And her mother.
It’s something I’ve struggled with on the Substack, Shuffle Synchronicities, as well as the memoir This Book Is The Longest Sentence Ever Written And Then Published.
And also with the semiautobiographical elements in SHOULD WE BUY A GUN?
Integral Spiritual Arc
Perhaps my favorite element in Laurie’s book, however, is the role that spirituality plays in her character’s arc.
It takes a lot of courage for Laurie both as a person and as an artist to include her spiritual awakening in her life and story.
But it’s something that is integral to her story and ultimately to many others’ growth.
I’m reminded of a tweet I read on X recently:
“Forgive your Parents. Find God.”
It was a crucial (yet ongoing) step in my own life.
And a crucial addition to SHOULD WE BUY A GUN?
There are storylines for both of the two main characters, the husband and the wife.
As well as a smaller one for the third main character.
And we shall see how they ongo with a future editor/publisher :)
Thankful for Community
Thank you to my friend, Kerem Sanga, professor, Jay Moriarty, his partner, Nancy Allen, and the author of today’s enthusiasm Laurie Sandell, for their community.
And to all of you!
Susan Beneville, from the Q+A in post 26, has recently recommended a fellow comic to enthuse about and perhaps Q+A with.
Hopefully that will come together soon :)
If you have something/someone you’d like to see celebrated here, please let me know!
THE IMPOSTOR’S DAUGHTER written and drawn by Laurie Sandell
Which was blurbed by Nathan Englander and Susan Orlean…
Is available from Goodreads, the publisher Little, Brown, and Amazon.