Theme

At a glance Bitter Medicine could be defined by the theme of "Overcoming the Odds". This is because despite the struggles of the Martini family, from Ben's suicide near the memoir's start to the seemingly endless trials Olivier endures both with finding steady work and medication that works, the memoir ends with the remaining family members leading satisfying lives. Olivier may still need to call Clem each night but the current medication better manage's Olivier's schizophrenia. One can feel a sense of having survived the ordeal that was Olivier's first years being diagnosed with his ailment. Olivier and Clem would write the graphic memoir and lead their own fulfilling lives as their other brother Nic and their mother would find their own paths.

This theme is only partially true though. Sure there is a sigh of relief now that Olivier is in a better place in life but the graphic memoir is not about simple survival or overcoming an obvious foe. One can associate surviving with Bitter Medicine because that is what Olivier and his family actively do, survive. Not in the sense of battling monsters but instead taking Olivier's mental illness as it presents itself each day. Some are better than others for Olivier and as Clem later reflects in the memoir, there is no cure for schizophrenia. Though the Martini family has survived the roughest years there is no absolutely air tight 'happy ending'. They continue to live their lives after the memoir takes place, enduring other hardships and dealing with whatever existence might throw their way.

So "Overcoming the Odds" fits when discussing the Martini's survival of those tough years when the memoir begins, but Bitter Medicine 's overall theme is that of simply living with what hardships life might produce. Not in a submissive or defeatist way, but to adapt and change as needed for those around oneself. Beyond this, the memoir even encompasses trying to handle these hardships long after they have passed. That was, after all, the point of Olivier and Clem writing Bitter Medicine to begin with.