Inklings (2009)

Just when I think I've hit memoir overload and can't take another, along comes a gripping one like Inklings. Political cartoonist Jeffrey Koterba grew up in a rickety old house in Omaha that was crammed with garage-sale junk (his pack-rat dad was especially drawn to old TVs), never understanding that his twitching, squeaking, flailing, and violent facial tics weren't due to some kind of craziness but instead to Tourette's, which wasn't diagnosed until adulthood. As a boy, he found solace from his illness —and his abusive father — in his Etch A Sketch and drawing pads; when he was a teenager, painting helped calm the shaking. A powerful and moving portrait of an artist. A–

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