Ronan and the Endless Sea of Stars

WINNER
Outstanding Work of Graphic Medicine (Long Form)
2023 Awards for Excellence in Graphic Medicine
Graphic Medicine International Collective

A graphic novel memoir recounting one parent’s unique and wrenching journey caring for a child with a terminal diagnosis.

When Rick and Emily’s infant son Ronan is diagnosed with Tay-Sachs, an incurable neurological disorder, they are faced with the practical and emotional hurdles of parenting and loving their son—despite the shadow of inevitable loss. Rick Louis narrates this original graphic memoir, with illustrator Lara Antal translating the space that Ronan occupies before, during, and after his life, using flights of fancy and imagination to express the bizarre, heartbreaking, and sometimes even silly reality of human beings suddenly trapped in an impossible situation.

Ronan and the Endless Sea of Stars is a story of warmth and of heartbreak—about finding joy in life, no matter how long or short that life might be.

FINALIST
Book of the Year
Best Adult Non-Fiction
2023 Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards
Pop Culture Classroom

NOMINEE
Best Presentation in Design
2023 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards
Ringo Awards