Stitches: A Memoir

David Small’s Stitches: A Memoir, published by W. W. Norton in 2009, is a singular, harrowing graphic novel that recounts the author’s traumatic childhood in 1950s Detroit. Through Small’s own stark, expressive ink-and-watercolor artwork, the book explores themes of family silence, medical malpractice, and survival, emerging as a landmark work in the autobiographical comics genre.