Born out of a viral “Shouts & Murmurs” piece in The New Yorker, this darkly humorous, charming, and brilliant graphic memoir, in the tradition of Allie Brosh and Roz Chast, brings the first few years of parenthood to life

CRY WHEN THE BABY CRIES
by Becky Barnicoat
Gallery, March2025
(via Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary)

With the wit of a comedian and the observational skills of a sociologist surveying a new subculture, Becky Barnicoat writes about her first few years of parenthood with warmth, sharp insight, and uproarious humor in her debut graphic memoir. Barnicoat’s prose is always relatable, smart, and so funny while discussing everything from how ignoring women’s pain is baked into the practice of obstetrics to the impossibility of putting a child down drowsy but awake while you are permanently drowsy but awake, to the tyranny of gentle parenting, and more. Barnicoat gives us permission to cry when the baby cries, and also laugh, snort, lie on the floor naked, drool, and revel in a deeply strange new world ruled by a tyrannical tiny leader, growing bigger and more cherished by the day.

Becky Barnicoat has drawn for The New Yorker, BuzzFeed, The Guardian, Netflix, and much more. Along with her debut book, CRY WHEN THE BABY CRIES, she has also illustrated Holding the Baby by Nell Frizzell and 101 Tiny Changes to Brighten Your World by Ailbhe Malone. She lives in England.