The adventures of Penelope

In Search of My Heart

coloring journal

Jennifer Verdieu

Author house

ISBN: 978-1-5462-4803-3; August 30, 2018

BOOK REVIEW

In Search of My Heart marks Verdieu's debut coloring journal, offering readers ample space to write and intricate shapes to color, making it a unique form of art therapy.

At the beginning of this book, Verdieu shares a brief note about the therapeutic role journaling played in her life. The author recounts the story of "Jennifer," who shares her name: "At eight years old, her father abandoned her... At twenty-three years old, she asked him why he never came back for her. He replied that she never apologized for burdening him with her birth. To process this painful truth, her first step was to start a journal." In this darkly toned book filled with abstract drawings, Verdieu invites adults to color and write down thoughts or memories inspired by the artwork. The journal is divided into chapters, each featuring delightfully esoteric titles in Latin—"chapter 2: intra in Ventriculum" and "chapter 5: Et Violonist." Each chapter, except the last, includes ten drawings paired with a lined page for reflection.

Verdieu's abstract, asymmetrical, torsolike shapes are composed of tiny cells and fronds, allowing readers to fill them in as they wish. The designs are intricate enough for creatively inclined colorists to identify familiar objects or scenes—one might depict a monkey dangling from a jungle branch, while another might show a seated figure smoking a pipe. Each drawing suggests a lively motion, with a mosaic lushness that captures the chaotic beauty of the natural world. Although the author does not provide explicit instructions for using her book, one can easily envision a reader coloring a page reminiscent of a sailboat caught in a storm, then writing about a rainy day on the coast or crafting a story about an unfortunate fisherman. Verdieu's clever chapter titles and highly interpretable images encourage users to create their own narratives; indeed, there's even a space for the colorist to add a title upon completion.

This beautifully simple and rather brilliant self-guided art therapy experience truly stands out as a form of abstract art.