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Diagnosed with bipolar disorder near her 30^th birthday, Ellen wrestles with the boundary between her creativity and her condition. Fearful that pharmaceuticals will destroy her creativity, she strives for balance, conversationally reflecting on the enjoyable highs yet abysmal lows and deftly using illustration to graphically communicate her states of mind. This in turns humorous romp and informative delve into clinical aspects of the disease explores the concept of the artist as madman. Like a diary of her therapy, the reader is carried through to her conclusion that there is reward in persisting with the process.
Forney, Ellen.  Marbles: mania, depression, Michelangelo & me, London : Robinson, 2013.

http://www.tcj.com/reviews/marbles/

https://www.littlebrown.co.uk/books/detail.page?

isbn=9781472106896

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Turning Japanese is the third instalment in the graphic memoirs of MariNaomi, an American Japanese woman seeking to understand her Asian cultural heritage. Growing up in small town Mill Valley California, in 1995 she moves to San Jose to work in hostess bars for Japanese expats thinking that this will assist in her language skills and inform her sense of cultural heritage which takes her on to Tokyo. MariNaomi uses sparse brush drawn cartoon style images to economically communicate her sense of otherness and to illustrate her journey to seek an understanding of the cultural limbo which she inhabits.
MariNaomi, Turning Japanese : A graphic memoir,  Minneapolis, MN. : 2dcloud, 2016.

http://marinaomi.com/turningjapanese.html
http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/turning-japanese-MariNaomi