Everything Eventually Connects: Eight Essays on Uncertainty

Overflowing with candor, humor, and the messiness of life, Firth’s graphic novel debut meditates on philosophical questions through a microbial lens. Divided into eight chapters with titles like “Desire Lines” and “We Were Here,” topics include why she “falls into the net” of news and pop culture available on her smartphone, even when hiking in nature; the drudgery of daily tasks like scooping cat litter and washing dishes; and the essence of identity and selfhood (“Some say the self is pure consciousness... the saying ‘just be yourself’ is weird”). Drawn in bright, sometimes haphazardly arranged comics, Firth’s explorations often take off from seemingly mundane experiences, like finding a slug in the shower (“So many common things are... wonderful and strange”), or wondering why it feels right to cut an orange one way and not another. Firth occasionally interweaves her musings with quotes from contemporary thinkers (Bill Bryson, Teju Cole, Oliver Sacks, and Rebecca Solnit, among others), and she covers such personal struggles as addiction, being bullied as a teenager, and encountering the world as a neurodiverse adult. It’s a looping narrative, as Firth herself admits: “I can trust myself to have a wild mind.” For those willing to go along for the ride, Firth’s joyful and discerning tangents offer plenty of rewards. (June)