Everything Is Fine, I’ll Just Work Harder

One queer person bravely and creatively uses therapy to navigate the healingfrom the trauma of a past sexual assault

One day, during an ordinary early-morning run, Cara’s watch dinged with a Facebook friend request. But when they checked the message, the photo slammed them backward in time and froze them in fear. Their rapist wanted to ＂friend＂ them.

Cara always had a long to-do list; always had many projects; always was busy. But as their rapist continued to send friend requests and tried to reconnect with them, they began to lose their grip on their work, projects, and relationships. But then Cara connects with a therapist who guides them through a long but powerful process of healing. And Cara works to desensitize, reprocess, excavate and relive the old wounds in order to move past them and heal.

Cara Gormally is a cartoonist, researcher, and professor. Their comics have appeared in The Washington Post, Mutha Magazine, Spiralbound, and other places. They earned a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia and is a professor of Biology at Gallaudet University. Cara lives in the DC metro area with their partner Andrea and their child.