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‘Rosalie Lightning’ by Tom Hart

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The new graphic memoir "Rosalie Lightning" (St. Martin's) by Tom Hart is a searing read. Hart's daughter Rosalie died unexpectedly in 2011 when she was almost 2. In words and pictures, Hart tells the story of the gut-wrenching grief that wracked him and his wife, Leela, Rosalie's mother. On top of barely being able to function in their sorrow, the couple had little money. Memories of Rosalie's quirks and passions bring moments of lightness. Hart's meditation on loss draws on the work of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and French intellectual Roland Barthes, among others.

JAN GARDNER