Billie wakes up after an amnesic episode with no recollection of the past three years and nothing but a mysterious sketchbook to help her piece together her past. But how far is she willing to go to find herself again?

From award-winning author/illustrator Pen So comes See You in Memories, a journey of self-discovery filled to the brim with creative vulnerability, heart, and relatability. Bille Lee, a bright-eyed girl with dreams of creating a life for herself as a singer-songwriter, finds herself in the Hong Kong spotlight as a recent winner of a YouTube singing contest. But with sudden popularity comes scrutiny, and criticism of her original songs runs amok online, leading her to perform only cover songs until she eventually decides to abandon her dreams altogether for a steady job.

It’s a poignant premise, and one I feel is all too familiar to those of us with creative passions, where it seems like everything is forcing us to make a choice between what keeps us alive and what makes us feel alive. This existentialist struggle is accompanied by So’s captivating line art, with each vignette of Hong Kong speaking to a moment that could only be rendered as truthfully as it appears in the book by having been experienced.

What lies at the center of this book, however, are the powerful themes of memory and connection. It’s tempting to linger in the past, in the comfort of what was, but you risk losing your connection to the now. Art, then, is a way for us to travel between those moments—a “connection” that can bridge the gap. Art, then, gives us that which all humans need in order to both survive and live: connection.

See You in Memories is a genuine and heartfelt story about the human condition. It asks of us not what we want to do with our lives, but whether or not we have the courage to pursue our dreams despite the noise. The answer, however, is up to you.

Creative Team: Pen So (writer/artist)
Publisher: Nakama Press
Click here to purchase.