Are You My Home?
Zine, Rachel Jackson, 16 pgs, [email protected]
There are houses and there are homes. There are also RVs, cabins, rooms above motorcycle shops and friends’ basements. These are a few of the places where Rachel Jackson and her siblings spent time growing up, and hanging with their father on weekends. Are You My Home? is a memoir (sort of), but it’s also a series of questions and statements. Displacement and restlessness are central themes as Jackson uses words mushed up with some great drawings and collages to tell her tale. The tone is not especially sad. Instead, there are tinges of confusion, uncertainty, and realizations about her personal reality. In that sense, you could argue this is a something of a coming-of-age story. She touches on university and wanting to ditch campus, permanently or semi-permanently. Friendship also comes up a few times and, more than anything, it would seem that Jackson is looking for a place to be, paired with people who need or want something similar. Rachel shares plenty in a few short pages and the artwork alone is evocative enough to create tone, presence, and meaning. It’s a relatable story, and one shared bravely. (Cam Gordon)
