Stitches: A Memoir

The emotional abuse by David's parents is just as horrific as the verbal abuse. But other violence abounds, as when David's grandmother goes insane and locks his grandfather in the basement before setting the house on fire. The stark visual images reinforce the horror David faces as a child and in his nightmares; a shot of a fetus suspended in a glass jar outside a lab is frequently in his nightmares. David is barely able to speak after cancer surgery -- a surgery his parents put off for years.

David and his brother look at their father's medical books when they are young and point out breasts and penises. One of his mother's friends is very sexy and he is attracted to her; when he's 15, he finds this friend in bed with his mother. He later states that her repressed lesbianism caused many of her emotional problems. David is taunted for acting gay while young because he is sensitive and imaginative. His grandmother is drawn dancing naked outside when she goes insane.

"Tit" and "hell."

The adults are shown smoking cigarettes and drinking cocktails or wine in many if not most of the illustrations. David's father, a doctor, always gives his son health advice (on posture) or bad news (that he has cancer) while puffing incessantly on cigarettes.