It looks like the long awaited sequel by Allie Brosh, Solutions and Other Problems, the follow up to her bestselling first book, is finally on the schedule for September through Simon & Shuster’s Gallery Books imprint.
Whether this is a firm date or just another placeholder is unknown, but you can preorder the book at Amazon or Bookshop.org.
When it was released in 2013 Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half was an instant and huge hit – collecting her stream of consciousness sort of webcomics, sort of essays about acute social anxiety and family issues. The series started as a blog and gained a huge following, and the book was another success. The awkward Paintbrush drawings resonated with late millennial/Gen Z readers dealing with their own anxieties and depression. Of it noted NON millennial Bill Gates wrote “I suspect that anyone who has experienced depression would get a lot out of reading this book. The mental illness she describes is profoundly isolating: ‘When you have to spend every social interaction consciously manipulating your face into shapes that are only approximately the right ones, alienating people is inevitable.’ It must be empowering for those who have struggled with depression to read this book, see themselves, and know they’re far from alone.”
While the book was a bestseller and Brosh made several public appearances, including Guest of Honor at Comic-Con in 2015, she kept a low profile and soon dropped out of sight. This tweet from 2014 was her last one, and an appearance at JoCo Cruise in 2016 was her last public appearance. Given her honest writing about her ongoing depression, her taking time off was understandable.
One of these days, I'm going to lose control, sign up for every social media platform on the internet, and show everyone everything.
— Allie Brosh (@AllieBrosh) November 13, 2014
The sequel has been announced many times since then, but always pushed back. But now we have a cover! And a page count (528 pages to Hyperbole and a Half’s 369.) And a blurb!
For the first time in seven years, Allie Brosh—beloved author and artist of the extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller Hyperbole and a Half—returns with a new collection of comedic, autobiographical, and illustrated essays.
Solutions and Other Problems includes humorous stories from Allie Brosh’s childhood; the adventures of her very bad animals; merciless dissection of her own character flaws; incisive essays on grief, loneliness, and powerlessness; as well as reflections on the absurdity of modern life.
This full-color, beautifully illustrated edition features all-new material with more than 1,600 pieces of art. Solutions and Other Problems marks the return of a beloved American humorist who has “the observational skills of a scientist, the creativity of an artist, and the wit of a comedian” (Bill Gates).
So maybe this time it’s for real!
While I’m excited for a sequel to one of the signature books of the decade, I’m also hopeful that Allie Brosh is in a place that finds her happy and productive. According to a blurb (seen below) the book includes 1678 pictures, so it may be even closer to a comic this time. Also, looking at the cover to the new book, Brosh’s art seems to be a bit more deliberately polished.
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