Brittlebrave

In this little book, Sabien Clement reports in word and image from the eye of the storm: a severe burnout that has put her entire life on hold. All she can still manage to do is draw models. In powerful sketches she depicts not just herself but the inner voices that alternately encourage and undermine her. Sometimes those voices are a choir, other times a quarrelling couple. The poses of the nude models, masterfully set down on paper by Clement, form a unifying theme. Recovery comes on tiptoe, never taking a linear course.

‘Brittlebrave’ is the word Clement invented for what she believes a person must be capable of being: vulnerable, yet fully aware of the strength that lies within that vulnerability. With her honest drawings and observations, the author fully exemplifies that word in this book. She offers a comforting glimpse into a difficult part of her life. Sometimes poetically, sometimes with gentle humour, but always uncompromisingly, she reveals herself – which is exceptionally powerful.