Navigating sobriety
Two trajectories animate Kabi’s journey. Overwhelmed by what she calls “the acute pancreatitis trio” of nausea, pain, and fever, Kabi’s journey to wellness presents what seem to be nearly impossible feats of discipline for the author. Her doctors prescribe a treatment plan that calls for rest, diet, medication, and, most problematically for Kabi, abstention from alcohol. Kabi feels shame and guilt, not only about her physical state but about exposing pieces of her autobiography in already published mangas. She vows to write fiction instead of memoir. Ultimately, this decision is as confining as the IVs that tether her to her hospital bed.