Tom is a stand-up comedian with a burgeoning career. At one point everyone thought his sister would join him to make up a comedy duo but Ellen was always more minded towards drawing and art in general. But she remained the driving force behind Tom’s chosen path. Then one day she came to Tom with some cruel news – she had pancreatic cancer. Surgery was followed by hospitalization. Nothing to laugh at you’d imagine, but Tom and Ellen continued to bounce humor off each other. Tom runs the gauntlet of the doctor’s ire to take Ellen out to see the trees and her favorite statue – The Mad Maiden by Rik Wouters inspired by the dancer Isadora Duncan. To her dying day Ellen thought the statue looked mad with joy. | Mad With Joy by Joris Vermassen, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters