Kathy MacLeod’s (still a) Continental Drifter

Modern Minorities

“I didn't ask my dad many questions, and now I'll never know. And I could call my mom up right now, but I'm not going to do that because - ‘the culture’ - we don't really ask each other personal questions.”

Kathy MacLeod is an illustrator and cartoonist - the author of CONTINENTAL DRIFTER, her debut graphic novel - a memoir about a youth split between growing up in Bangkok, and her first summer camp experience in Maine. CONTINENTAL DRIFTER is a coming of age story about a girl caught between two worlds - her home of Thailand, where her mom is from, and her discovery - and reconciliation with reality of - the exotic, idyllic America of her father. Kathy’s work was an accidental discovery (and a happy surprise) - a classic childhood story of seeking belonging, but not being sure where we can find it. While it’s a fun graphic novel geared for kids, at times it can be a heavy drama of understanding for all of us. It’s really tender, and it has a lot of heart. Kathy’s work has appeared in The Believer, Catapult, The Hairpin, and Lucky Peach. After spending most of her life in Bangkok, Thailand (with a four-year interlude at Wesleyan University), Kathy is currently living in Berlin, Germany. While our chat didn’t cover much about her work, we covered a lot about the stories we each carry with us about the relationships we have with our families.

LEARN MORE

• instagram.com/kathy_macleod
• BOOK: Continental Drifter - goodreads.com/book/show/111672623-continental-drifter

MENTIONS

• BOOK: Blankets (Craig Thompson): goodreads.com/book/show/25179.Blankets
• BOOK: Ducks (Kate Beaton): goodreads.com/en/book/show/59069071-ducks
• SHOW: Felicity: imdb.com/title/tt0134247/
• BOOKS: Ramona Quimby (Beverly Cleary): goodreads.com/series/40341-ramona-quimby
• PERSON: Chanel Miller - wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanel_Miller

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