A graphic memoir of one woman’s utterly relatable and life-affirming anxiety journey.

GIVE ME SPACE BUT DON’T GO FAR
by Haley Weaver
‎Avery, Spring/Summer 2023
(via Neon Literary)

Through eleven illustrated essays, GIVE ME SPACE BUT DON’T GO FAR encourages readers to understand anxiety as a part of them, a neutral thing as unavoidable and intrinsic as any other part of their body. Anxiety isn’t an obstacle, it’s a roommate. Or in Haley Weaver’s case, her anxiety is represented by a wide-eyed tangle of string, Weaver reveals over the course of the book that it isn’t an enemy to defeat or an obstacle to overcome. Anxiety just is, and it’s never going away, but if we care for it with tender curiosity and attention, it has many gifts to offer. With care, practice, and the friendship of some really great coping mechanisms, you can learn how to live with your anxiety roommate in a mutually respectful, affectionate, even meaningful way.
GIVE ME SPACE BUT DON’T GO FAR is more than just a memoir; it’s a valentine to selfacceptance and forgiveness.

Haley Weaver illustrates and shares webcomics about anxiety + mental health, relationships, and selfhood on her Instagram account @HaleyDrewThis. Her illustrations have been featured on other notable accounts and websites, including Bustle, Betches, New York Magazine, and Bored Panda. She has a knack for transforming universal (and sometimes overwhelming) feelings into digestible, relatable illustrations. Since sharing her first doodle to Instagram in 2017, Haley has accrued a fan base of almost 300,000 followers on Instagram.