I do not know if migrant families really talk about the challenges of being family as migrants, and the many different ways of being family that they experience. These involve both geographical and cultural distances, and the impact of this on the different generations. My family certainly didn't really speak much about these issues when I was a child. The distance might be physical such as living in a place which is far from your country of origin, or people or tribe of origin. The distance mig...

The artwork is amazing! And the story is compelling. It was interesting to see the tragic upbringing of the author and how he was abused by his mother. I didn't like character of his mother much and but I appreciated how morally gray she was, just like every person in real life. It was very brave of the author to share about his life experiences

I've never read a graphic novel before but wanted to read this one because of the plot. This was heart breaking, raw, but real . It made me tear up in the end. It was extremely intense and the author was very open in speaking about his abuse, drugs, and poverty. His struggle with his mother broke my heart as well because you know she just wants the best for her son but she is struggling herself in trying to be happy. Overall, I enjoyed this and thought it was quite powerful.

This wrecked me. I read it before going in to work. Hawthorne presents his story in a way that is relatable and frustrating. Strong illustrations, and the author's note will make you cry.

this was pretty darn good.

This is a graphic memoir that is focused mainly on the author's relationship with his complicated mother. There is a lot of abuse here, and poverty. The author's anger towards the world, fueled by his rough mother, lonely upbringing and racism is palpable, and is by far the best part of this work.However, as far as story-telling goes, it's uneven. There is some good stuff about Puerto Rico and some great episodes in the author's mother's life. But then there are huge gaps in the narrative that p...

Mike Hawthorne's graphic memoir details growing up in a cycle of abuse and poverty. Raised by his Puerto Rican mother and abandoned by his white father, Mike and his mother move to York, PA to find somewhere safer than New York. Being dark skinned in PA at the time meant not being able to find steady work, sinking further into poverty and self-hatred. Eventually she begins to take it out on her son, although a lot of people at the time considered it "tough love" to keep Mike out of gangs. This f...

Searing. An unflinching, harsh, loving, harrowing examination of the author's life growing up in extreme poverty as a Puerto Rican goring up in the northeast US. The core of the book is the author's mother, and her complex/abusive/self-sacrificing/angry/self-defeating relationship with her extended family and her son. This is a sad story with no happy ending (other than the author's success as an artist and storyteller) but it is one well worth reading.**Thanks to the artist, publisher, and NetG...

Mike Hawthorne's graphic memoir is really a kind of anguished and complex love letter to his abusive mother, whom he finally forgives because she was a single parent, and poor, a survivor. There are huge holes in the plot from the abusive upbringing to his own family and comics career but you get a glimpse into what it meant/means to them to be Puerto Rican and poor in the US. A kind of exorcism for Hawthorne, maybe.

An excellent spikey memoir, beautifully illustrated, which had me instantly hooked.You could call this book an autobiography of sorts, but it's much more a biography of the author's mother, and a reckoning with the complex relationship they had. His mother, Blanca, is Puerto Rican, and she does her best to make ends meet while living in New York. His father has disappeared long before the author is born, the only thing that lingers is a surname. There is a half-sister from a different father, wh...

A comic book artist recounts the complicated relationship he had growing up with his single mother, a troubled woman who abused him physically and emotionally.It's not bad, but there's a heavy-handed shoe metaphor that just doesn't work. Also, like three-quarters of the way through he skips abruptly from being an art-school grad working as a short-order cook in a diner to a successful comic book artist with a wife and three children, and I don't feel this pivot was properly explained, especially...

Thank you .to the publisher for an advance copy via netgalley!Ahh what a sweet story of a boy who loved his mom no matter what! The art of this book is amazing!! It tells you story of the harsh life of a little boy that just never fit in. His struggle thru poverty, violence and abuse. And his biggest struggle of them all.... how to raise his little girls for them to have a different life!

This graphic memoir is mainly about the author's relationship with his complicated and abusive mother. I liked the art, but found the narrative rather uneven. There are gigantic holes here, and that might be because the author simply doesn't know, and can't tell us what he doesn't know. I appreciated how he explored aspects of being Puerto Rican and poor in the US. Families are complicated, and this book lets us look behind the closed curtains of one. Not so we can judge, but maybe get a differe...

Thank You to NetGalley for this eARC!!Eisner Award-nominated artist Mike Hawthorne presents a true and tragic graphic novel memoir about family, abuse, survival and what it means to be Puerto Rican in America.It is a powerful story with amazing graphic illustrations by the author about his life, struggles and family relationships especially with his mother,

A graphic memoir about what it means to be Puerto Rican in America, about love, loss, family, loneliness and most of all, abuse. I hadn't realized that this story would mainly be about the abuse the author suffered from his mother and how their poverty shapes their lives.It can be triggering for anyone who's been abused by a parent. It was heartbreaking seeing him go back to those memories and come to a lot of realizations about his mother, their family, and what they mean to him after he's grow...

An extremely intense memoir about the author and his mother. It goes over what kinds of hardships they both went through and how that has affected the authors present. Wasn't the biggest fan of the art style, but that's just a personal preference.

Graphic memoirs are one of my favorites, so I'm thankful to have read #HappinessWillFollow. The author tells his story as a young Puerto Rican boy growing up with his single mother, moving around New York and York. The story jumps back and forth in time and also telling stories of his mother and his own life. Despite all of the hardships he lived through, Hawthorne does not paint a totally dreary picture of his childhood--pointing out the beauty and community despite--alongside his mother's abus...

'Happiness Will Follow' by Mike Hawthorne is a graphic novel autobiography of Mike Hawthorne who was raised by his mother, Blanca.Mike and his mother Blanca, fought to keep food on the table. They fought a family that didn't want them. Mike and his mother fought too, but that was mainly Mike getting abused by his mother. Blanca has a lot to make her angry, and the only one to take it out on is Mike. He shows how complicated people can be, so Blanca is never just a one dimensional person.This kin...

Happiness Will Follow is a memoir in graphic novel form. It focuses on the author's relationship with his mother. Mike Hawthorne was raised by his single Puerto Rican mother Blanca. When he was young they lived in New York City but his mom moves them to York, PA because she thinks it will be safer than NYC. Mike's childhood is one of poverty and insecurity. His mother is proud and has a temper, so Mike faces his share of abuse. I found the story to be raw and powerful. The artwork was awesome an...

Happiness Will Follow is Mike Hawthorne's memoir told in graphic novel format. Growing up in America as a Puerto Rican in the 80s and 90s, Hawthorne vividly describes his childhood of poverty, anger issues, juvenile misdemeanors, and abuse. This graphic novel doesn't sugarcoat anything in showing the abuse Hawthorne suffered from by the hands of his mother. I really liked how nuanced the characters were and the different perspective Hawthorne presented on the abusive mom in an attempt to show he...