(trigger warning: themes/scenes of Alzheimer's, nudity, death, homophobia, sexuality)

A powerful graphic novel about love, loss and life.
Clemence is struggling with Grammy's descent into Alzheimer’s. Unwilling to let go of the woman who raised her, they set on a journey of remembrance.
I wasn’t expecting the gut punch this book made me feel, was hooked from beginning to end. The illustrations are soft, clear and full of colour, flowing with the memories of the past and experiences of the present Clemence shares with her grandmother. It is also a story of struggle as Clemence faces the battles we all do in adulthood, of losing a loved one, of accepting ourselves and seeing our childhood through the eyes of an adult.
This tale is sweet and sorrowful, but also strong. Though we may not share the same challenges, I feel this book will touch everyone in one way or another.

Forget Me Not by Alix Garin is a beautiful, heartbreaking story of one family's experience of Alzheimer's, and the frustration, fear, and pain that comes from loving someone battling the disease. This one resonated with me on so many levels.

Clemence is frustrated with seeing the hopelessness in her grandmother as she battles her disease. Deciding that she will take her to her childhood home, a place that is still very real to her grandmother, Clemence embarks on a trip, not fully anticipating the trials that will befall the pair along the way.

This is a brutally honest, heartwrenching account of the deep love between a grandmother and her grandchild, and the feelings of helplessness that are inevitable as we witness the decline of those we hold most dear.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for an ARC.

My chest hurts and I cried so much while reading this. This graphic novel made me think about what would happen to my mom after I move out, find a job, and start living my own life. And it made me miss my grandparents. Just, wow.

The art style was absolutely gorgeous and the story was beautiful and heart-wrenching.
In such a short graphic novel, Alix managed to capture so many emotions we all feel and talked about sexist behavior, toxic masculinity, and what Alzheimer's does to a person, an astonishing job honestly.

I would recommend this to everyone, this novel is a must-read!

* Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of Forget Me Not in exchange for an honest review *

TW: Nudity, swearing, death, Alzheimers

About the book: When Clémence, a student and actress struggling with personal issues, sees how miserable her grandmother is in her nursing home, she decides to break her out and take her on a road trip to the coast so she can see her childhood home one last time. But traveling with a senior with Alzheimer’s Disease comes with a fair amount of challenges, and the journey is fraught with highs, lows, and near misses. Still, it’s a chance for the two women to reconnect, with each other and with themselves, and it’s a chance for Clémence to give Grammy the gift of one last thrilling and joyful experience.

Overall Thoughts: This was not the story I thought I was getting. When it started out it was sweet and then turned odd. At first it feels like Clemence is out to save her grandmother and then it turns into she's only out to do things for herself. I enjoyed the artwork of the graphic novel but it was all lost on me with the weird parts that added random scenes into it.

Thanks: to Netgalley and Europe comics for this advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was such a sweet, heart warming story about pretty tough topic. Also about Clémence and how she tried to figure out who she is in this world. Graphics and colours were absolutely beautiful and so cute. This story gives as a little glimps about people with Alzheimer’s Disease, about relatives and how helpless and miserable they feel, because any help they could give is out of their hands. I liked that this topic was executed in such a light, positive way, but also showed as everyday's obstacles. I think it's a really great story with cute graphics and I can feel how this story could be very close to someone, specially for those who's relatives have Alzheimer’s.

Firstly, the art style was really lovely. It really emphasises the importance of memories and what’s important in life. The story was beautiful and emotional and I can really empathise with the character. It also shows the effects of Alzheimer’s and how it just doesn’t effect the person who has it, but also those around them.

This book was so beautiful - the art and the story. This is a great visual representation of what Alzheimer’s does to a person. Get your tissues ready!

A sweet and moving graphic novel of remembering. Clemence breaks her grandmother out of her nursing home to take her away from it all and give her one last adventure where she knows she'll feel loved. In doing so, Clemence faces the struggles of a successful road trip, from having enough money to gas to knowing the directions for where they need to go. But she has to do it for her grandmother; she can't stand to see her withering away on her own, slowly losing her memory. Meanwhile, Clemences mind is remembering what it was like to grow up with her mother and grandmother, and hoping that she shared her love for them both enough over the years for them to both still feel it
The illustrations were gorgeous. Garin makes good use of the blank spaces, and dozens of emotions are displayed throughout countless wordless boxes, shown rather than told. Interspersed throughout the story are snapshots of Clemence sitting in an investigation room with police officers, and I couldn't help but wonder what was coming. The adventure was delightful, and kept me reading, hoping for the outcome they were both searching for.
I would definitely read more from Garin, and thank you to he publisher for approving access to this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

Aah, this hit me right in the feels. It really brings home how precious our time is with family. It also reminded me of my relationship with my grandma and how hard it’s been not being able to see her in the pandemic.

Clemente is an awesome main character, and her lesbian representation is really lovely. I have to admit, the repeated use of the d slur did take me out as it was said without any consequence. I mean, Clemente did punch a guy for calling her the slur word, but still, it was in there in flashbacks and then we moved on. If you’re going to have queer representation, it’s important to acknowledge anything harmful or negative that is being said about the LGBTQIA+ community, especially in a contemporary setting. Despite this, it was nice to see her able to hook up with another woman with no stigma attached to it, which was nice, so that’s why the d slur didn’t quite make sense.

The art style though was really lovely and the text wasn’t too small either. Really well done by the artist. The panel spacing was also easy on the eyes, and the last two pages’ frames did make me tear up a bit.

Recommend if you’re looking for a story that is about finding yourself when all seems lost and the unbreakable bond between grandmother and grandchild.

Trigger Warnings: Alzheimers, Violence, Blood, Gore, Naked Bodies, D Slur, Picked Edges on Fingers.

The story of Forget Me Not tells a heart wrenching tale, filled with joy, humor, and adventure. Clemence is tired of seeing her grandmother down, so she decides to bust her out of the retirement home, which leads to a long car ride to her grandmothers family home.

On this eventful journey we see how truly special the relationship between grandparent and grandchild can be. Forget Me Not also showed the true blue moments of Alzheimer’s and how it affects everyone, and the impact on family relationships.

My stomach is still in knots after reading this heartfelt tale, I highly recommend it.

Clemence's grandmother suffers from Alzheimers and is in a nursing home, which she constantly runs away from. Clemence is desperate to give her grandmother a bit of an adventure and peace of mind before she passes, so they go on a road trip.

Her grandmother wants to travel to her childhood home, and Clemence hopes it will help alleviate the effects of the Alzheimers. The grandmother does have many lucid moments on the trip, but the dementia still grips her at times.

Their bond grows stronger and Clemence also grows her bond with her mother, who had to be absent quite a bit in her childhood.

Some of this book had weird moments, but it wasn't too far fetched. The story has a way of captivating you. The graphics told a story of its own, which was nice.

I am not quite sure what happened at the end though. Maybe it is meant to be left open to interpretation???

Special thanks to Netgalley for providing a digital copy in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars.

What a beautiful story. One of my greatest fears is losing a parent to Alzheimers. It's such an awful disease that does nothing but cause emotional turmoil. I can't imagine anything worse than not being remembered by my own parent who raised and loved me my whole life. This story does a lot to bring that fear forward, and makes me want to relish in the time I have with them and make wonderful memories while I still have the time to do it.

the only reason I'm not rating this higher is because I didn't like the way Grammy was being treated. And maybe this just has to do with being set in Europe vs the United States. I believe in the US, there's not a focus to orient those with Alzheimers to the current time anymore. If they talk about their parents who have long been gone, it's not necessarily that you indulge them, but you don't try so hard to orient them to their parents being gone. And that's a lot of what Clemence was doing. Her heart was in the right place, but part of Grammy's distress was coming from this time oriented treatment, and it just made me feel even sadder for her

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I liked this book! It was very emotional and raw. It made me sad thinking about my great grandmas and how the end of their lives were. It was both hard to read and comforting at the same time. I also think the artwork really made this story come to life.

Wonderful book, hit me in all the feels. Very powerful story telling but make sure you have a box of Kleenex on you

Made me feel all the feels. What a beautiful journey through family and relationships and aging that this book takes you on.

This was one of the most heartwarming simultaneously heartbreaking stories I've read in a very long time. It was just so beautifully tragic. I'm at a loss for words because it was just so good.

This book was very endearing. My grandmother has dementia and I felt very seen by this. It’s so authentic and the resolution feels earnest and hopeful, which is not always how these situations feel. I hope to see more from this creator.

Forget Me Not is a graphic novel that follows Clémence as she breaks her grandmother out of a retirement home and the subsequent adventure they have on a roadtrip to her grandmother's childhood home.

Whew. I knew going into this there would probably be some tears, but Forget Me Not was just an absolutely beautiful story. The relationships between grandparents and grandchildren is a sacred one, and Forget Me Not captures this is such a poignant, real, powerful way.

I loved the story. It tackled how Alzheimer's can impact relationships, aging, homophobia, and love in a very genuine and contemplative way.

I highly recommend reading this, it felt almost like a Thelma and Louise between a grandmother and her grandchild in the best possible way. Reading it was hard, it was beautiful, and to me it embodied closure and acceptance in the way that often comes in relationships built on pure love.

Clémence adores her grandmother, as most of us lucky enough to have grandmothers do, and this is a really beautiful book.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel was beautiful! The level of detail in the drawings was really lovely, and not too much that it felt heavy.
The storyline of the gran with Alzheimer’s hit close to home for me as I have a family member with dementia, although the plot didn’t show everything we go through, it did outline it well enough. I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending, to me it just felt extremely sad. But on the whole I did enjoy this short story and reading the pictures as much as the words.

Lovely. The writing, the art, and the whole package come together so nicely. I particularly enjoyed the (light spoiler alert) semi-ambiguous ending of what happened after her grandmother reached her childhood home. The portrayal of Alzheimer's disease was almost too "pretty" in that it showed forgetfulness, but hardly ever the anger and more difficult side of being a caregiver for someone that is demented. All in all, a lovely and truly enjoyable book that I won't soon forget.