This book is the product of Kriota’s artists residency at the New York Academy of Medicine Library. It includes a graphic memoir, images of embroidery she made based on historical medical illustrations, and notes and citations of her research from the Academy’s Historical Collection.

Kriota, an embroiderer, goes to the park with her doctor-friend Mollie for a lesson about surgery and suturing techniques. As they wound and sew up fruit, they explore the histories of medical sewing and decorative sewing, gossiping and joking about the great surgeons of history. But the same techniques that Mollie uses with her patients to relieve their suffering have a dark history that affects us all. History is full of love, suffering, service, and cruelty, sometimes all coming from the same source. Kriota’s knowledge of embroidery helps her understand the legacy of medical research.

Artist: Kriota Willberg
Publisher: self-published
Pages: 28pp
Size: 6.5 x 9
Notes: saddle-stitched, color
Release Date: 2019