Featuring disarming illustrations by Saul Freedman-Lawson, Special Topics in Being a Human elaborates on "Asking Bear"'s premise: a gentle, witty, and insightful book of practical advice for the modern age. It offers Dad advice and Jewish bubbe wisdom, all filtered through a queer lens, to help you navigate some of the complexities of life--from how to make big decisions or make a good apology, to how to get someone's new name and pronouns right as quickly as possible, to how to gracefully navigate a breakup. With warmth and candor, Special Topics in Being a Human calls out social inequities and injustices in traditional advice-giving, validates your feelings, asks a lot of questions, and tries to help you be your best possible self with kindness, compassion, and humor.
Saul Freedman-Lawson is an illustrator, student, zine-maker, babysitter, and educator. He makes art about queerness, transness, Judaism, and childhood. His comic Naturally is forthcoming from Old Growth Press. He likes to draw excitingly gendered people with big noses. This is his first full-length book.
Reader. Writer. Appreciator of clouds and flowers. Pronouns: she/her. Pronounce: EX-teen.
If you don't yet have a copy of Special Topics in Being a Human, or if you want to gift this most useful illustrated advice book, now is an excellent time to buy! https://t.co/QRiQVkATXo
Professor of comic books and Canadian literature at the University of Winnipeg. Writing about refugee & migrant comics, Canadian auto/bio comics.
Special Topics in Being a Human: A Queer and Tender Guide to Things I’ve Learned the Hard Way about Caring for People, Including Myself by @sbearbergman @sfreedmanlawson reviewed by @WrackWonder @Arsenalpulp https://t.co/4uR8Lma5n3
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I finished Special Topics in Being Human by @sbearbergman and illustrated by @sfreedmanlawson and wow did I wish I read it sooner. If you want to be a kind and compassionate person, I highly recommend it.
"I've been receiving nothing but good life advice from S. Bear Bergman for just about thirty years now. With this book on your shelf, so can you. At every crossroad in your life, you'll have loving guidance from a smart, kind big brother, a fun and funny uncle, and a best-ever daddy." --Kate Bornstein, author of Gender Outlaw
"S. Bear Bergman is the fantastic gay uncle you always wished you had, ready and able to help steer you - with gentle pragmatism and good humor - toward being a better, kinder, more compassionate and thoughtful human being. Heaven knows we could all use it." --Hanne Blank, author of Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality