Puzzled: A Memoir about Growing Up with Ocd

Growing up with undiagnosed OCD sure isn't easy, and here Pan Cooke shares his own experiences with that condition in a graphic-novel memoir that is as funny as it is powerfully candid and openhearted.

Pan Cooke is ten years old when anxious thoughts begin to take over his brain like pieces of an impossible puzzle. What if he blurts out a swear word while in church? What if he accidentally writes something mean in his classmate's get-well card? What if his friend's racy photo of a supermodel ends up in his own homework and is discovered by his teacher? More and more, he becomes hijacked by fears that can only be calmed through exhausting, time-consuming rituals.

Pan has no way of knowing that this anxiety puzzle and the stressful attempts to solve it are evidence of a condition called Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. This is his story of living with and eventually learning about OCD. Told with endearing honesty and humor, Puzzled shows the reader the importance of empathy for oneself and those going through something they don't yet understand.

Author: Pan Cooke
Publisher: Rocky Pond Books
Published: 04/16/2024
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 8.35h x 5.75w x 1.02d
ISBN: 9780593615614

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.5
Point Value: 1
Interest Level: Middle Grade Plus
Quiz #/Name: 555049 / Puzzled: A Memoir of Growing Up with Ocd


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 01/15/2024
Booklist 02/01/2024 pg. 48
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2024
School Library Journal 04/01/2024 pg. 147
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 05/01/2024

About the Author
Pan Cooke is an Irish artist and "cartoonivist" residing in Dublin, Ireland. He frequently posts cartoons about social issues on Instagram, where he has a large following, and he has created comics for Amnesty International and Campaign Zero. This memoir is his first book.