Publications - Pt. 3

== Non-Fiction Books== Examining some of Matini's notable non-fiction works, including Bitter Medicine and The Unravelling.

Bitter Medicine
Martini has also established a career of non-fiction writings regarding his personal life and his love of theatre. Bitter Medicine and recently, The Unravelling, recall the true events of mental illnesses within Martini’s family. The former is a graphic memoir about Clem’s brothers, Ben and Olivier Martini, struggling with schizophrenia and even features illustrations by Olivier. The reception to Bitter Medicine was a great success with critics lauding its sensitive yet honest approach to a topic that has not received enough attention. It won the Calgary Book Award in 2011 and was short-listed for the Alberta’s Favourite Book Award in the same year.

The Unravelling
The Unravelling also features drawings by Olivier Martini but the book chronicles the development of their mother’s dementia, along with the healthcare system that their family had to rely on. Clem Martini’s memoirs have been very powerful to readers, both familiar and unfamiliar with the experiences he has gone through. In an interview with The Globe and Mail about The Unravelling and its tough subject matter, Martini said, “The interesting thing to me is when you do talk about these things, how many people will say, ‘That was my experience, too. That happened to me and my mother and I didn't know how to deal with it.’ It's only through really sharing those moments when you feel vulnerable that you can connect with others and make them understand they're not alone,” (Leung, 2017). Through these personal anecdotes, combined with Olivier’s charming drawings, Clem Martini has found a truly refreshing voice that manages to provide great insight into life’s harder and more confusing struggles. This poignancy also comes through in his plays but perhaps with a more open sense of humour.

Additional Non-Fiction
Besides these two graphic memoirs he has also written books such as One Hundred Stories For One Hundred Years which touches upon the Wood’s Homes that Martini worked at, and he has scribed three instructional books about playwriting. The Blunt Playwright, The Greek Playwright and The Ancient Comedians each teach different forms of scriptwriting for the stage and are even taught in many post-secondary schools across Canada.