They say depression feels like drowning from the inside. Welcome to the aftermath of a mental breakdown.
Sophie is trying to mend the pieces of her broken life. The people around her think she is "cured," but she knows she still has a long way to go before she truly feels "better."
Going Under is not a story as much as a process, fragments of a personal journey collected in order to make sense of an experience that can feel impossible to describe. D drawn in a minimalist, reserved style, this award-winning graphic novel mirrors the feelings of the protagonist-centering the narrative around images to convey powerful emotions when words fail.

Winner of the 2014 Joe Shuster Award for best Canadian cartoonist, Zviane studied music at Université de Montréal before getting sidetracked by her growing interest in comics. She is the author of For as Long as It Rains, also from Pow Pow Press, as well as the popular L'Ostie d'chat series which was first published as a web cartoon. Apnea was awarded the Bédéis Causa for best album of the year, when it was originally published in French in 2010. She currently live in Montréal.

Zviane's profile page

Helge Dascher has for 25 years translated texts with a dynamic relationship to images. A background in art history and literature has grounded her translation of over sixty graphic novels, many by artists who have broadened the medium's storytelling range. Her translations included acclaimed titles such as Julie Delporte's This Woman's Work (co-translated with Aleshia Jensen, Drawn and Quarterly, 2019), Sophie Bédard's Lonely Boys (co-translated with Robin Lang, Pow Pow Press, 2020) and Michel Rabagliati's "Paul" books (Drawn and Quarterly, Conundrum). She also translates exhibitions, digital stories, and films, most recently Theodor Ushev's The Physics of Sorrow (with Karen Houle, NFB, 2019). A Montrealer, she works from French and German to English.

Helge Dascher's profile page

• Nominated, Prix Bédélys - Best Book - Québec
• Nominated, Joe Shuster Awards - Outstanding Cover Artist
• Winner, Bédéis Causa - Best Book

"Going Under is a fantastic work of art and a powerful look at the anxiety and stigma surrounding mental health issues. A poetic, introspective work that avoids clichés about mental health and recovery with a perspective on the subject that felt really refreshing."
-Philippe Leblanc, The Comics Beat
"It is as potent a document of depression that I've ever read... It's bleak and harrowing, and Zviane's crisp, precise linework boldly captures this sense of despair."
-Rob Clough, High-Low
"Zviane lets the reader see depression from the inside with no clear resolution."
-Kevin Wolf, Graphic Medicine