Mis(h)adra is the autobiographical story of a young Middle Eastern student struggling with epilepsy. The title refers to two Arabic words: “mishadra”, which means “cannot”, and “misadra”, which means “seizure”. There isn’t really a story. The author’s stand-in, Isaac, suffers from epilepsy and… by the end, he’s still suffering?
I didn’t like this one very much. Of course I’m sympathetic to anyone with serious illnesses but Isaac is such an utterly irresponsible twat, I ended up hating him! So, almost anything triggers seizures in Isaac, but here are some things that he could avoid, knowing they are harmful to him. Like drinking, which leads to dehydration, which leads to seizures - so don’t booze to start with! And don’t self-medicate with illegal drugs and take your prescribed meds as and when you’re meant to! It’s hard to feel sympathy for someone who self-sabotages like this.
Then there’s the illness itself. I’m not an expert but does epilepsy cause you to gouge your eyes out? Or break glass and cut yourself with it? And when I say almost anything triggers Isaac, I mean almost anything! Not getting eight hours of sleep, going to class, not going to class, even getting a stern talking to from medical professionals and this dude CRUMBLES! It just seems like, for a book supposedly about the troubles of living with epilepsy, it’s not an accurate portrayal of the illness as the author seems to have numerous severe mental issues additionally.
And the self-pity! Oh my god, I can’t stand it. Poor him, life’s so hard - go to a couple of hour long classes AND a doctor’s appointment in one day? Best fall apart instead! Then why not skip the meds and drink tons of beer so you’ll be no good tomorrow either?! There are also several medical professionals who disagree with his own self-diagnoses and we’re meant to feel sorry for him because nobody understands. But, if so many medical professionals are in consensus on his illness, are they really wrong or is the author just trying to once more play the victim, something he clearly relishes?
His Middle-Eastern father doesn’t believe in his illness, because Islamic culture or something, which I guess is shitty but he clearly still cares about his son, frequently calling him up to check on his health. And he must be bankrolling his education and medications because Isaac does nothing but mope about when he’s skipping class. But, he’s still chalked up as yet another stress trigger in Isaac’s tragic life!
There’s no real point to the book either. He’s basically as fragile and dependent on medication at the end as he was at the start only now he’s decided to stick to his medication schedule because… ? Woah, what a totally not forced character arc!
I really appreciated the presentation though. The book is printed on different coloured paper and the anime-style art is drawn in different coloured inks, all of which added to understanding the disorientation and unstableness of epilepsy. I also liked that the illness is portrayed as numerous floating daggers with eyes on the blade, like shoals of menacing fish.
I’m certain living with epilepsy is difficult but Iasmin Omar Ata’s portrayal of it in Mis(h)adra does its sufferers no favours through the characterisation of ultra-snowflake Isaac. Good visuals aside, David B’s Epileptic is still the best comic on epilepsy I’ve read yet.
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