Zoe Thorogood is a British graphic novelist who gained a massive following with the release of her breakthrough work, “It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth.”
The semi-autobiographical story uses an array of illustrative styles and color swatches to communicate her struggles with depression — including her confronting literal demons.
“Thorogood elevates the dark material with her expressive use of the comics medium and the urgency of her voice,” Forbes wrote when the book was released. “One to watch for the 2020s.”
“‘It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth’ is, quite simply, a comics masterpiece,” Broken Frontier praised. “If you are ever looking for a book that serves as the ultimate example of comics that do things that only comics can then this should be your go-to tome. It’s that significant.”
But Thorogood’s meta fable took on a different connotation for her in the wake of a family tragedy. In October 2024, her younger brother James died by suicide at 23 years old.
In the wake of his death, she decided to donate all profits from her graphic novel to mental health charities — including Mindcharity, a nonprofit that supports housing, crisis helplines, and drop-in centers in England and Wales.
According to The Guardian, the publishers of the Italian, French, and Spanish editions of her work pledged to match the donations.
“Mental health is so underfunded and misunderstood, and I’m not going to pretend this will make much of a difference, but while I am still in deep grief and pain it is a start,” Thorogood wrote in an Instagram announcement.
Thorogood added that James was featured in a section of her graphic novel, and his memory lives on in her work — as well as in her and her family’s grief.
“I don’t have any answers right now, I can’t bring my brother back or fix the system,” Thorogood admitted in the same post. “I am — as they say — just a girl, but now more than ever I know how strongly I feel about this. Once again, James, I love you, you frustrate me as a little brother should, but I miss you.”
In 2025, Thorogood donated $40,119 to mental health charities across the UK.
“I’m proud of myself,” she wrote in the update post on December 15. “But I can’t pretend it hasn’t come from a place of deep personal regret and sadness.”
“The world lost a lot more than it realised when it lost James. He was the most considerate person I knew. He’d help anyone with anything. A gentle and caring soul in a cruel world that didn’t care for him. I know there’s many James’ out there, and the world needs as many James’ as it can get.”
“I think you have to have a bit of a mean streak to survive in this world,” she wrote. “But I wish we could all be more like James. I know I’m trying.”
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2025 Edition of the Goodnewspaper
Header image via Zoe Thorogood / Instagram
