It's All Absolutely Fine by Ruby Elliot @rubyetc @TrapezeBooks

IT'S ALL ABSOLUTELY FINE is a darkly comic, honest and unapologetic illustrated account of the daily struggles with mental health.

Ruby Elliot, aka Rubyetc, is the talent behind the hit tumblr account, 'Rubyetc', which has over 220k followers and growing. Taking readers on a journey through the ups and downs of life, the book will encompass everything from anxiety, bipolar disorder and body image to depression and identity, shining a light on very real problems - all framed with Ruby's trademark humour and originality.

Ruby balances mental health with humour, making serious issues accessible - and very funny. With the superb talent to capture the essence of human emotion (and to make you laugh out loud), this book is as important and necessary as it is entertaining. IT'S ALL ABSOLUTELY FINE will include mostly never-before-seen material, both written and illustrated, and will be an empowering book that will make you laugh, make you think, and make things ok.

It's All Absolutely Fine : Life Is Complicated So I've Drawn It Instead by Ruby Elliot was published by Trapeze Books on 17 November 2016.

I'd seen some of Ruby Elliot's drawings on various social media sites, she's known as @rubyetc on

Twitter, and have really admired her honesty, and her humour. There's a saying 'a picture tells a thousand words', and Ruby's art really does say so much. Her pictures are simple line drawn cartoons, but they are also incredibly telling. Her fear and frustration shouts out from them, she is incredibly talented.

Ruby expresses the things that she finds impossible to talk about through her drawings and whilst they tell a story of pain and sadness, they are also filled with a warmth and humour that made me want to take Ruby and give her a loving hug (which would probably be the last thing she wants ... sorry Ruby!).

The drawings are divided up into themed sections and Ruby writes a couple of pages about each theme, and then the drawings take over. In the first section; It's A Beautiful Day For Don't, Ruby gives some of her history "I am sitting on the floor next to the bed waiting for nothing to happen."  The other chapters are all creatively titled, such as: Lost: Sense of Self and the final chapter is It's All Absolutely Fine.

Ruby was just a child when she was diagnosed with anorexia, diagnosis of bulimia, bi-polar and depression all followed and she dropped out of school when she was 17. Drawing for her blog and social media accounts gave her a voice, and made her feel a little bit less lonely. Ruby has dealt with some incredibly painful times in her life by being funny, and I'm guessing that her drawing and her wit have often saved her from falling to the darkest depths .... those that some people never emerge from.

I'm positive that It's All Absolutely Fine is going to help so many people, especially those who haven't found their voice but can relate to what Ruby is saying, and drawing. Knowing that there are others out there that do understand, and are experiencing similar things can be the spur to keep someone going, and Ruby certainly does understand. Her drawings, and her words are heartfelt, raw, sometimes difficult to read, but so very moving and clever. This is a tremendous book and Ruby Elliot really is absolutely wonderful.


My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review.

Ruby is a twenty-something person and illustrator from London. She likes dogs, jam and shouting. Four years ago she starting drawing cartoons and posting them online under the name Rubyetc.
She is currently learning how to write author bios.

Check out Ruby:

Twitter @rubyetc
Instagram @rubyetc_
Facebook   rubyetcdrawing

#AbsolutelyFine 

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