Structure

Are You My Mother has seven distinct chapters, or sections, each beginning with a dream sequence that the author has had. The dream is then used to set the tone for the chapter and the discussion that will follow. The book covers various details of the author's life that occurred before her birth, up until the publication of the graphic novel.

In general, as a graphic novel, this work is a therapeutic vehicle by the author to come to terms with her relationship with her mother. In her search, she includes works from others such as David Winnicott, Freud, and Virginia Woolf.

The lack of chronology in the book might be jarring for some readers. The author bounces back and forth with such fluidity that the reader might not be sure which therapist Bechdel is talking to from scene to scene. There reason for this is because...