Writer: Alissa Torres
Illustrator: Sungyoon Choi
American Widow is the raw re-telling of one woman's attempt to pick up the pieces of her shattered life after 9/11. Alissa Torres was a young mother-to-be whose husband had begun working for Cantor Fitzgerald, a company situated in one of the twin towers on September 10, 2001. His death began a journey for Alissa that is as fearful as terror itself and poses the questions, "how do you move forward after such a tragedy"?
Alissa Torres uses this graphic novel to discuss her struggle to survive financially and emotionally after her husband's death. Here, we can see her problems with finding aid that was promised by the government, issues with the Red Cross in preparing her husband's funeral, and the lack of support by friends and citizens of the US.
Illustrator: Sungyoon Choi
American Widow is the raw re-telling of one woman's attempt to pick up the pieces of her shattered life after 9/11. Alissa Torres was a young mother-to-be whose husband had begun working for Cantor Fitzgerald, a company situated in one of the twin towers on September 10, 2001. His death began a journey for Alissa that is as fearful as terror itself and poses the questions, "how do you move forward after such a tragedy"?
Alissa Torres uses this graphic novel to discuss her struggle to survive financially and emotionally after her husband's death. Here, we can see her problems with finding aid that was promised by the government, issues with the Red Cross in preparing her husband's funeral, and the lack of support by friends and citizens of the US.
Reviews discuss American Widow as a failure in terms of telling an accurate story because there are aspects of Alissa's life that are mentioned but never fully discussed. For example, Alissa does not go into detail about her son, nor does she discuss the topic of the arguement between herself and her husband that was never resolved. But, this graphic novel isn't about those details. Rather, Alissa tells her story by sticking to the facts of those grueling months after 9/11, and the empty promises of the American government and those agencies that promised to help 9/11 victims and never pulled through.
American Widow feels like experiencing the painful discomfort of an open wound. The reader follows the story along with Alissa as she encounters every jab at her rights as a widow and as a human being.
I was a grade 9 student with glasses and braces sitting in science class when planes were flying into buildings, killing to inflict terror on an entire nation. I remember exactly what the weather was like that day, and I remember how I felt as I watched the news. But I cannot relate to Alissa Torres and the many many victims and survivors of 9/11 because I did not feel fear that day like so many others did. If I can't relate, then how can I judge her story? As a graphic novel, American Widow has all of the ingredients- panels, gutters, flow and a storyline. To Alissa Torres, this was the best way to tell her story. And maybe parts are left out because, as a reader, we cannot understand or empathize with her; we don't have the same memories of 9/11 as Alissa Torres does. Maybe all we have to do is read her story as an example of what terrorism and national tragedy are capable of.
I was a grade 9 student with glasses and braces sitting in science class when planes were flying into buildings, killing to inflict terror on an entire nation. I remember exactly what the weather was like that day, and I remember how I felt as I watched the news. But I cannot relate to Alissa Torres and the many many victims and survivors of 9/11 because I did not feel fear that day like so many others did. If I can't relate, then how can I judge her story? As a graphic novel, American Widow has all of the ingredients- panels, gutters, flow and a storyline. To Alissa Torres, this was the best way to tell her story. And maybe parts are left out because, as a reader, we cannot understand or empathize with her; we don't have the same memories of 9/11 as Alissa Torres does. Maybe all we have to do is read her story as an example of what terrorism and national tragedy are capable of.
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