Teva Harrison

Teva Harrison (August 20, 1976 – April 28, 2019)[1] was a Canadian-American writer and graphic artist. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at age 37, and began to document her experiences with the terminal illness using illustrations and essays.[2] Her works were compiled into a graphic memoir called In-Between Days.[3] The book was a finalist for the 2016 Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction,[4] and put Harrison on the list of 16 Torontonians to Watch.[5] Harrison won the 2016 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize,[1] and was a finalist for the 2017 Joe Shuster Award for Cartoonist/Auteur.[6]

She also published The Joyful Living Colouring Book[7] in 2016, and a posthumous collection of poetry of drawings, Not One of These Poems is About You was published in January, 2020.[8]

She wrote for The Walrus,[9] Granta,[10] and HuffPost,[11] and was featured in the Globe and Mail,[12] Creative Mornings,[13] HuffPost Canada,[14][15] Kirkus Reviews,[16] The New York Times,[17][18] and WNYC.[19] She also spoke on CBC Radio about her experience.[20][21] She became a respected voice on issues around metastatic breast cancer,[22] opioids,[23] and the power of nature.[24][25]

Harrison's art was featured in a solo exhibition[26] at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in 2017, and she was the lead illustrator of Draw Me Close, a virtual-reality theatre production, created by Jordan Tannahill and co-produced by the National Theatre and the National Film Board. Sections of Draw Me Close were featured at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival and the 74th Venice International Film Festival.[27] Draw Me Close will have its North American premiere with Toronto's Soulpepper in 2020. Harrison died at home from metastatic breast cancer, sparking a national outpouring of grief.[28][29][30]