Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame

An intimate, clever, and ultimately gut-wrenching graphic
memoir about the daily decision women must make between being sexualized
or being invisible


In Commute, we follow
author and illustrator Erin Williams on her daily commute to and from
work, punctuated by recollections of sexual encounters as well as
memories of her battle with alcoholism, addiction, and recovery. As she
moves through the world navigating banal, familiar, and sometimes
uncomfortable interactions with the familiar-faced strangers she sees
daily, Williams weaves together a riveting collection of flashbacks. Her
recollections highlight the indefinable moments when lines are crossed
and a woman must ask herself if the only way to avoid being objectified
is to simply cease to draw any attention to her physical being. She
delves into the gray space that lives between consent and assault and
tenderly explores the complexity of the shame, guilt, vulnerability, and
responsibility attached to both.