Tracing Family, Healing the Heart: Roots by Tara O’Connor

 Life doesn’t always go as planned, and that’s where the real story begins.

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Author: Tara O'Connor

Genre: Graphic Novel, Nonfiction, Memoir

Trigger Warnings: Divorce/Separation, Emotional Distress, Heartbreak, Anxiety, Self-Doubt, Identity/Belonging Struggles, Romantic Relationship/Development of Romantic Relationship

Tropes: Self-Discovery after Loss, Finding Home, Ancestry/Heritage Quest, Slow-burn Relationship, Graphic Memoir, Transformation, Travel

Pace: Fast

Spice: 🌶️ (1-5 peppers) 

Page Count: 154 Pages (Kindle Edition)

Format Consumed: Kindle E-book through Amazon Prime

After a painful divorce, Tara O’Connor sets out to trace her Irish ancestry—and ends up on a journey of self-discovery, travel, and unexpected connection. Told as a heartfelt graphic memoir, Roots blends humor, introspection, and beautiful illustrations to explore identity, belonging, and new beginnings.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, which was surprisingly a non-fiction novel. I thought it was a unique way for an author to share a memoir that was also entertaining at the same time. 

The author tells her journey to find her genealogy of her family from Ireland. She had travelled there, and it was a great setting for this memoir. I think the author did not take into consideration how much research she should have done before leaving for Ireland to find her family roots. 

I really think the pacing of the novel was perfect for a memoir since it was not too slow or too fast. I think it was good pacing because the story kept flowing at a natural pace as if Tara was personally telling us the story. Now I do wish some parts slowed down a bit because I felt like the romance budding was a bit rushed. It felt like it was trying to be brushed over, but at the same time still shared with the audience. 

"years of cold, passionless pecks and forced hugs… something I’d never wish on anyone.” Unknown Page location

I would recommend this to anyone who wants an introduction to memoirs or non-fiction books. I think this was a great intro for me since I have not really read any non-fiction books. I also liked how the images in this book fit the story perfectly without taking away from the story being told. I also really like the highlighting of all the characters the main character met along the way of finding her family history. I just wish that everything was more planned out or that it felt like the author had done more research in terms of finding ancestry or Ireland itself. 

Rating: 💫💫💫💫💫 (4/5 stars)