Barry faces her own demons when she first starts to illustrate her graphic novel. The illustration with demons that say “This is pointless!”,”what in the hell are you doing?!”, “Time Waster!”, ” Where’s this gonna get you?!”, What a waste of paper!!”, shows the demons of low self-esteem. Lynda was inspired and motivated by the painted hand scroll. She attempted to draw as well but her own self-doubt tried to discourage her. She made the choice to keep drawing. Soon she transformed these demons that stopped her from drawing into a way of mapping out and working out the different problems in her life. The creation of the graphic novel was therapeutic for her in my opinion. When Lynda started to invite the demons she faced her fears.

The entity of demons are used to in reference to things that bother and weaken us. There are phrases like “inner or personal demons”, or “demon in the bottle” when talking about alcoholism. Lynda Barry adds to this use of the word demon to mean things that plague many children. Children deal with bullies or abusive parents. Children also struggle with anxiety, depression, and stress. Young children that are not properly supported usually have low self-esteem and little to no confidence. this lack of belief in ones abilities and potential maybe the worst demon of all. All the self help seminars and karate lessons cannot save you from this. Turning to alcohol and drugs is a sign of defeat from these inner demons. Confidence, self respect , and a tenacious attitude that says “of course you can’ are fantastic to have, however finding this inner power is very difficult. These demons will fly around you choking you, not letting you take a free step in the direction of your choice. They will trap you and tighten around you like a boa constrictor. These demons grab you and push you into frozen waters. When these demons come for you, you must ask yourself if you are willing to let go of happiness? Do you give them control because that is the reality, you are giving them control. It only seems that they are taking it.  You must ask yourself if you will let yourself drown.