Published Visual Essay • 2024

The Anniversary That Seems to Happen Every Year

A personal visual essay about the anniversary of my mom’s death, the reminders that interrupt ordinary days, and living with grief as time moves forward.

Written and illustrated by Delaney Gibbons. Published in Human Parts.

A woman walking on a winding path through trees. There is a small inset illustrating a phone in a pocket making a notification sound. Text in the yellow sky reads "The Anniversary of My Mom's Death." Illustrated by Delaney Gibbons.
A hand holding a phone, showing a notification for an upcoming calendar event, "Mom's anniversary." Illustrated by Delaney Gibbons.
An inset panel shows the woman with shoulder-length brown hair looking at her phone, then below that, pressing 'snooze' on the calendar event notification, and continuing her walk in the woods. Illustrated by Delaney Gibbons.
A close up of the calendar event, accompanied by emojis, and the date "September 8th." Illustrated by Delaney Gibbons, for her visual essay "The Anniversary."
Image shows the woman sitting in her car looking sad, surrounded by various reminders of the date. Illustrated by Delaney Gibbons, for her visual essay "The Anniversary."
Image of text on a light green background, with leaves and twigs around the edges. Illustrated by Delaney Gibbons, for her visual essay "The Anniversary."
Illustrations of a robin on a branch, a sunflower, the view out an airplane window of a sunset over the ocean, and a photo on a smartphone of two little girls smiling, by Delaney Gibbons, for her visual essay "The Anniversary."
Illustrations of a blog, travel journal, tomato garden, and the woman walking in nature and looking up at a bird. In the lower right hand corner is a real photo of the author's mother, a smiling pretty woman with short hair, wearing a blue top.
Calling back to an earlier panel, this repeats the calendar event close up, now with the emojis scattered about the screen. Illustrated by Delaney Gibbons, for her visual essay "The Anniversary."
A woman sits at a table making art and softly smiling. The background shows an open window with wind-blown curtains and a scenic view of trees, flowers, tomatoes, and birds. Illustrated by Delaney Gibbons.