Not sure what to think about that one. I'm an utter believer that we are never too late and that life is life, heros come from all age groups... but that's not what this book really was. The main character is kept so distant, her feelings are hard to understand - the tragic moment was utterly unnecessary I thought, and kind of in bad taste. If that's what it takes for someone to emancipate, I must say I didn't like it at all... The message tasted a little bitter to me, I'm not sure I got it. Is it a warning about being weak?
Addressing the same type of topic, I much preferred Our Colors by Gengoroh Tagame.

What if you just upped and left?

On Josy's 60th birthday, that's exactly what she does when she packs her bags and walks out on her family after 35 years of marriage. I loved her journey of self-discovery, unexpected friendships and a newfound romance.

Starting anew is by no means easy and this graphic novel perfectly captured Josy's feelings of guilt, frustration, fears and more. An unexpectedly heartwrenching and poignant read, it also touches on grief, loss and healing. The artwork is beautiful, while also fitting for the story's tone and themes.

A unique graphic novel that I really enjoyed overall!

Thanks to Europe Comics for giving me the ARC of this graphic novel through Netgalley

Sixty Years in Winter is a story of realizations, rediscovery, and taking risks.

Josey is a 60 year old woman who wakes up on her birthday with a sudden need to run away from her family and take the roads in a mini van. She meets on a parking lot a single mother with a kid who needs a bit of help. Josey stays with her for some days and during this time she is invited to go to a club of ladies who, like her, decided to leave their marriages and get autonomy. There, Josey meets Christine, with whom forms a bond that turns into romance. However, the change and family's disapproval stops Josey from taking this new path in her life and her, um, cowardice? Bites her afterwards with a heartbreaking notice.

I found the beginning of this story very engaging, the pace was right until the breakup, the following scenes to the ending felt very rushed and there wasn't any resolution nor explication from Josey to the whys or when she started to feel like her life was no longer fulfilling. I'm noy talking about being spoonfed with her whole backstory, but a bit of dialogue or some mature discussion with her husband would have been alright to have more of a sense of what was Josey really feeling.

Although i was angry with the tragic event that happened near the end of the book, i refrain from critiquing it after reading the authors' afterwords that mentioned they know Josey. Which i assume this story was based on, thus these events might be real and not a plot device.

The artwork was pretty, i liked the coloring.

Overall it was a great read. Could have been longer to make it more impactful, tho.

Sixty Years in Winter is the story of Josy - a woman who, on her 60th birthday, decides to liberate herself from a stagnant life. She makes new friends, falls in love, and faces the difficulties of jumping headfirst into a new life. This graphic novel is bittersweet and full of heart. It presents familial struggles, the dangers of lingering in a stale routine, and the hope that new friends and experiences can bring. However, it never lets the reader - or Josy - forget that life isn't always kind. Beautiful illustrations and a story of self-discovery can be found in one of Europe Comics' newest graphic novel offerings.

This was equally breaking and warming for my heart. I was so drawn into Josy's story that I stayed up late reading it. I like how there are no simple or easy answers for why Josy decides to leave her husband, her attempts to wrest independence from her needy adult children is shown very realistically. It's clear that Josy most wants someone to really talk and listen to her and we see her family repeatedly fail her in that respect. Similar to Chabbert's Waves, the emotional journey and real life moments are strong and stand on their own without a lot of background and explanation. The art is beautiful and perfectly renders every emotion.

Sixty Years in winter tells a nice story of sixty-year-old Josy, who leaves her husband on her birthday. It’s in the middle of the winter, and she drives away in her minivan with no destination in mind, with no plans for where to go.

I picked this up because of the illustrator Aimée de Jongh, because I loved her previous work, Days of Sand. The illustrations were excellent, as I expected. But the story was not so much to my liking. I couldn’t believe how Josy was planning this, but then ran off with no plan. And she often acted pretty immaturely. I guess she could at least try to explain to her family.

This graphic novel is a quick read for those who like bittersweet stories. But for me, the story could be better. 3.5 stars.

Thanks to Europe Comics for the ARC and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review, and all opinions are my own.

Thank you so much Netgalley for approving my request ❤️


The illustrations are marvellous 😍 It is one of the biggest reason why I adore European Comics. Their artwork always capture my heart. The plot is good and I appreciate the message. Overall, a great book.

Major thanks and gratitude to NetGalley and Europe Comics for making this one available.

This was an insanely beautiful but weird read. It just made my day.

Picked this up because I loved Waves and overall I was not disappointed! The art was gorgeous and stories about old sapphic women always warm my heart (even though this one in particular was pretty heavy). The pacing of the ending felt a bit off to me, and I wish it had been a bit longer so there was more room to explore some things that happened in the last 15ish pages,

Really touching story of a woman who wasn't happy in her marriage and left her husband to then find happiness with a woman. Beautiful lil short graphic.

3.5/5
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for permitting me to read this comic in exchange for an honest review.

I admit I am a bit hesitant on how to review this comic. I liked the feminist side if the plot, the subject of a woman who finally finds the courage to leave her husband and free herself, and I loved the idea of a group of old women who call themselves "free witches". I appreciated the romance between Christine and Josy, although it happened very quickly.

I'm not, however, a fan of how she ran away, so abruptly and without any explanation. I also would have liked a bit more of a psychological insight, I feel like I've just scratched the surface and never got to really know the real Josy. I also found Christine's sudden death not very relevant and needlessly dramatic.

I did love the drawings and I'll surely check the paper version of the comic to better appreciate them.
Overall, I feel like recommending it, despite the things that did not completely convince me.

This is such a good story about a woman Josy who become 60’s and wants to free herself because she’s in a loveless marriage and she is kinda estranged from her grown up children. She meets different ladies throughout the novel and the one Lady Luck she has on her tail is Catherine. However their love was complicated and pretty much things take a turn for Josy. It’s pretty sad in aspects but it is definitely one to check out yall!

3.5 ★

Such a beautiful graphic novel, the illustration is so pretty, the concept is so good but I guess the story was not for me.

The protagonist of the story, Josy, packs her bag and decides to leave her family (her husband, adult children, grandchildren) on her sixtieth birthday in her volkswagen minibus, in order to gain her freedom again and starting a new life after being exhausted in her loveless marriage of 35 years. She later meets a single mother who introduces her to a group of women who had faced/is going through similar situation in life as Josy. She ends up finding a love interest, but still, something keeps holding her back.

The story brought tears into my eyes quite a few times. Josy's family made my blood boil sometimes, and the characters were beautifully made. I loved it when Josy found herself a romantic partner, it was so cute to read about them. Though what happened later shattered my heart into pieces. The artwork is brilliant and so pleasant to the eyes!

No matter how good the storyline is, I found it confusing at times. The intention behind leaving everything of the protagonist was not clear to me. And on some part, she seemed equally selfish as her family. But I guess that's what made her character so realistic because we all are flawed.

I would recommend this book to everyone, it’s a graphic novel and very easy to read. Though it’s not one of the best books, it is a lovely, bittersweet story and definitely a good one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for this eARC!

Josy leaves her life behind on her sixtieth birthday. She wants to re-discover her freedom and find out what she wants.

The artwork was beautiful, it told the story clearly with the amazing coloured paintings. The story, however, felt incomplete, it felt like I was coming into it part way through and missing parts of it.

Her family seemed selfish and self serving, but Josy at times came off that way too. While the explanation for her leaving is there, and my sympathies lay with Josy, sometimes I felt as though Josy was a bit inconsequential.

This feels like a (second) coming of age story for the not so young in body but in heart. It's still a lovely book.

A few blanket statements about this graphic novel before I get into my opinions of the plot/characters. The art was wonderful, especially the use of color to convey mood and tone. The translation work was also very well done. The dialogue flowed easily and there were no confusing points.

I struggled with my feelings towards the story conveyed in this graphic novel. The themes of freedom and needing to find your true self after dedicating so much energy to others resonated deeply with me. The main character, Josy, is not perfect. None of us are. Flawed characters are important because they make us think and reflect. Honestly, I found it difficult to view Josy in a favorable light. One half of me thinks that Josy should have communicated better with those around her (both her family and her friends). There were many moments in which Josy lashed out at those who were being supportive of her, not just the people holding her back. We all lash out and do things that we regret, but I did not get the sense that Josy was reflective on her own behavior within this story. On the other hand, I wonder if I'd have a different perspective of Josy as a character if she were a more conventional heroine. If she was a twenty-something in a comedic romance novel, would I feel the same way towards her? I doubt it.

That being said, I'd have loved to see just a little more nuance in the way Josy's choices are evaluated by those around her. On the one side, her family is completely and unapologetically cruel in their behavior. Having a conversation between Josy and at least one of her family members later on in the series could have offered a better feeling of resolution, even if this didn't result in her family supporting her choice in the end. The same can be said for her friendship group. There was no grey area for any other characters to view Josy's actions. They were either terrible or incredibly awe-inspiring. This is what contributed to my sense that Josy did not grow or change as a character throughout the story, beyond the resolution.

Josy, decides to leave everything from her past life on her 60th Birthday. Leaving behind35 years of marriage, children who she no longer recognizes and grandchildren, who expects her to play the part of Wife,mother and grandmother all the time but shes exhausted in this life and drives away in her minivan, from all these expectations that with time have become a burden and her. She is finally free and on her own living her life. On her new journey with self meets women who understand and listen to her and new bonds are formed but their fate is also short lived.
Sixty Years in Winter by Ingrid Chabbert and Aimée de Jongh was heartwarming story and characters with most stunning art and even brilliant use of colors that become part of the story which is being told, of new found family and new beginnings. I really loved this one.
Thank You Thank you to Europe Comics and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sixty Years in Winter by Ingrid Chabbert and Aimée de Jongh is a hearwarming tale of found family and new beginnings. The story revolves around Josy, a gray-haired woman who has just turned 60. Abruptly, she decides to run away from her husband and adult children and live in her minivan. How will her former family react to her decision? Will she regret her decision? Or will she find new family and new love?

Overall, Sixty Years in Winter is a lovely graphic novel that will appeal to fans of Eat, Pray, Love. One highlight of this book is the unconventional main character. I don't want to spoil anything, so I can't be too specific, but I was definitely surprised by the main character. We don't often have protagonists like this in graphic novels. I did take off 1 star, because I don't often read realistic graphic novels like this. That's not the book's fault. I'm just explaining why it wasn't a 5 star read for me personally. If you're intrigued by the description, you can check out the book, which is available now!

A heartwarming and beautifully illustrated story about how it's never too late to claim your own happiness.

With beautiful art work the book tells the story of a woman who changes everything on her 60th birthday. What starts as a spur of the moment decision turns out to be a much needed fresh perspective. Josh upsets her whole family when she suddenly leaves everything behind to look for something else. In the beginning she doesn’t know exactly what that something is, just that her marriage has grown stale and boring. When that something comes knocking on the door it sweeps her off her feet whilst her family is fighting against her decision with everything they’ve got.

Although a little predictable here and there, and something I’ve read variations on several times, the story is told with a lot of heart and honesty. The art work elevates the story and turns it into something more moving and better.

Pretty quick read. The story has its ups and downs, as real life does. I appreciate the vulnerability and truth behind it all. So many bittersweet moments, reaching the end of the story being one of them.