A grieving mother, a minister & a comic book writer turn lessons from loss into graphic novel ‘A Chance to Mend’

It had been eight years since the death of her beloved son Willie from osteosarcoma when Lisa Tichenor was asked a question by renowned pastor Adam Hamilton — what practical tips can you give me to help friends deal with the loss of their child?

At times, she felt she was barely hanging on herself as she grieved for Willie, with his impish grin, curious spirit and zest for life. Day by day, though, she’d been collecting note cards scribbled with hard-earned lessons which had aided her recovery and brought her back to a colorful world of happiness and joy. Tichenor agreed to assemble those lessons and share them with Hamilton and his friends. As she gathered them from behind refrigerator magnets and beneath bulletin board thumbtacks, the seeds of a book were sown.

Tichenor reached out to Neil Moseley, then minister at Highland Park United Methodist Church, where she was an active member. He’d been technical editor on two previous theological projects, and he’d been close to Willie and the Tichenor family during his illness. The two began collaborating to write a book helpful to others.

“The Tichenors are wonderful people, and Willie was a great friend and a rare and spectacular human. I still miss him a lot, and I imagine what all he would have gotten up to — and into — had he not died so young,” Moseley says. “Working with Lisa on this project allowed us to talk about Willie, to remember so many good times, to process our own grief and to be hopeful that others might benefit from the wisdom of Lisa’s grief.”

The book evolved into more “story” than “self-help,” and Moseley worked to keep character interactions from being cliché or over-simplified. He also wanted to include the concentric circles of friends, medical personnel and others affected by Willie’s loss. Still, something was missing.

That’s when Tichenor read a 2024 Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate article about Travis Hill.

A fan of the comic book genre, Hill had used his experience as a volunteer with church youth to write his first comic book in 2016. As his success grew, he became co-owner and editor-in-chief of Literati Press Engage Comics.

“Once we met Travis, the project began to take shape,” Moseley says. “Travis was amazing at keeping us on track, creating realistic expectations and bringing in other talented artists to contribute. When we realized that we could get the books printed in time for the 20th anniversary of Willie’s death, we had our goal, and Travis kept us committed to that timeline.”

“When I started my comic creating journey in 2016, I had no idea how many different skill sets — and people — worked on a single issue of comic or graphic novel,” Hill admits. “Learning that most comic books involve a scriptwriter, line artist, color artist, letterer and editor blew my mind. But it has also allowed me to meet incredibly talented and skilled artists in the comic book creating space over the last decade. In that time, I have worked on over 40 different comic projects, with countless creators from across the globe. And that’s what I like most about this literary art form — the collaborative nature of it, especially with artists.”

Hill, a professor at Collin College, says narratives are better teachers than other forms of written work, and visuals can communicate emotions in ways that text cannot.

“My history students rarely remember the intellectual arguments I make in my lectures, but they always remember the stories I tell,” he explains. “Academic studies show that comic book readers have higher vocabulary and comprehension skills than non-comic book readers. At the end of the day, there is something about being lost in the story and art of a graphic novel, especially with a deeply humanized character we can relate to.”

During the writing process, Hill suggested fictionalizing the story, which freed the still-grieving Tichenor from deep-diving into certain painful details while remaining true to core principles of her journey. The result is A Chance to Mend.

“If I’m telling Willie’s story, I have to be true to every detail,” Tichenor says. “Once I fictionalize it, all bets are off. That took all the pressure off my heart to be able to craft it into something that would benefit people. Nobody wants to read another sad story. This way, we could weave all these stories in a way that shows how people support each other. That changed everything for me and allowed me to go forward.”

“My hope, with any story I write, is that the reader feels something — whether that’s laughter, sadness, anger, joy or all of these and more — and forms a personal connection with the characters in some way,” Hill says. “I hope that happens with any reader who turns the pages of A Chance to Mend. This book is for anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one and for anyone who has a friend experiencing such a loss. Part of the main character’s story is that her friends, at times, are poor comforters, to borrow a phrase from Job in the Bible.”

The story portion of the graphic novel is followed by photos of the real-life Willie, plus a list of 26 “take aways” assembled from Tichenor’s note cards. Her goal is to help families who grieve, just as the tips have continued to help her.

“I hope that folks who are grieving will find the book a helpful, empathetic tool as they move through their own grief,” Moseley says. “I hope Lisa’s list of lessons will resonate with people who struggle with the myriad feelings that change from moment to moment after experiencing loss.”

Tichenor and husband Mac created the Quad W (What Would Willie Want?) Foundation just before their son’s death. The nonprofit funds innovative sarcoma research, scholarships for medical students, transformative mission opportunities and local philanthropic activities. Quad W envisioned the Osteosarcoma Institute in 2017 to improve patient outcomes and is now the largest philanthropic funder of research for osteosarcoma in the United States.

Moseley helped bring White Rock UMC from near-closure to a vibrant and growing community church and helped transform the old Owenwood UMC building into the Owenwood Farm and Neighbor Space. He created a consulting group, The Church Cartographers, to work with congregations and help them navigate the systemic decline facing most mainline religious institutions.

Hill teaches U.S. History and Texas History at Collin College and is seeking a Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Dallas. He’s also working with the Open U.S. History Lab to create open education textbooks for college undergraduate students. Last fall, they finished the second edition of the American YAWP: A Massively Collaborative Open U.S. Textbook, and this summer they are finishing the first edition of The Palace of Thundering Gods: A Massively Collaborative Open History of Religion in the United States.