The indie titles I managed to read this year all seemed to be hitting new heights in some way or another but the latest of Rachael Smith’s releases continued her own personal trend for hitting me with a title that sticks in my head.
Stand in Your Power gave us a glimpse into her own struggle with life, the decisions she made to tackle those events and ultimately how she fights to find a path to contentment which I’m sure we’re all clinging to in our own way. That’s something she’s done in the previous books she’s gifted to us but this had a firm emphasis on that word ‘power’ in the title as it was a heartfelt journey she rolled out in front of us with the numbness of her lows & euphoria of her highs became a rollercoaster full of feels, tears & reality.
At a time when mental health is spoken about much more openly it’s a book like this that highlights the key things that we gain from a medium like comics as it offers a much more varied world than the spandex heroes & villains that flood the mainstream. Thats coupled with the freedom in the indie world to tell the stories that need to be told and the exact way Rachael tackles these things means that readers are much more likely to find something tangible to connect with. She’s done it before, she’s done it here & then some, and I’m sure she’ll hit the same level of awesome we’ve come to expect.
‘Stand in your Power’ HAD to make the list because of the total commitment on show from Rachael as she opens up about her own struggles as a way to highlight the hope within it.
G-Man