The Disability Book Archive

[ID: A book cover the background is largely red, with an orange space in the centre. The cartoon of a visibly anxious man sits lower centre right, in the orange shape, holding his knees to his chest. There is a record player on his head. A large speech bubble is coming out of the record player. Text in it reads:
“Everything is an Emergency” with “Everything” in large red capitals and “Emergency” in large orange capitals. “Is an” are stacked together at the side in very small black writing.
A thought bubble stretches out from the left of the man. Text in it reads:
“An OCD story in words & pictures” in black writing.
The authors name “Jason Adam Katzenstein” is written at the bottom of the cover in black writing. /end]

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Content Warning:

• Panic Attacks
• Animal Death
• Child Death

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Summary:

A New Yorker cartoonist illustrates his lifelong struggle with OCD in cartoon vignettes frank and funny

Jason Adam Katzenstein is just trying to live his life, but he keeps getting sidetracked by his over-active, anxious brain. Mundane events like shaking hands or sharing a drink snowball into absolute catastrophes. Jason has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a mental illness that compels him to perform rituals in order to protect himself from dangers that don’t really exist. He checks, washes, over-thinks, rinse, repeat. 

He does his best to hide his embarrassing compulsions, and sometimes this even works. He grows up, worries about his first kiss, falls in love with making cartoons, moves to New York City — which is magical and gross, etc. All the while, half his energy goes into living his life, while the other half is devoted to the increasingly ridiculous rituals he’s decided to maintain to keep himself from fully short-circuiting, 

Then, he fully short-circuits. 

At his absolute lowest, Jason finally decides to do the things he’s always been told to do to get better: exposure therapy and medication. These are the things that have always freaked him out, and they continue to freak him out. Also, they help him recover. 

Everything is an Emergency is a comic about all the self-destructive stories someone tells himself, over and over, until they start to seem true. In images surreal, witty, and confessional, Jason shows us that OCD can be funny, even when it feels like it’s ruining your life.

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Notes:

There is an audiobook.

Katzenstein has also written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, and MAD Magazine.

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Archivist Comments:

The general consensus for this one seems to be that it’s a quick read, humorous and genuine.

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