Darkroom: A Memoir in Black & White is primarily about immigration and race, but also about a shy girl who arrives in America knowing no English. She grows up in a house where Argentine culture is kept alive through food, music, and letters from the home country.
I’m that shy young girl. For me, the cultural clash was short-lived, as I adapted to the language and customs of our new home in the U.S.—WITH ONE IMPORTANT EXCEPTION: I never could swallow the racial attitudes of the Deep South. My discomfort with segregationist views grew as the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum and eventually encroached upon our lives through controversy, violence, and the urgent need to take a stand. This is the central story related in Darkroom.
Darkroom contains over 500 individual drawings. I often used a digital collage method to layer images and text.
To order or request exam copies, follow this link for The University of Alabama Press.
Here are some sample pages that demonstrate my technique and offer previews of the content. Click on images for a magnified view.
lila q weaver 
Your illustrations are superb, with so much details.
Again, thank you! I appreciate the feedback SO much!
Beautiful and heartbreaking. I have my copy on my shelf.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Bob!
This book is amazing! I love the way you incorporated pictures as drawings in your style. I had to read this for my second year “culture” class in university, and I have to say out of all our reading this one was my favorite!
That’s the nicest compliment I could hope for! Thank you!
I’m a library assistant at the Vanderbilt University Library and learned about your book from your Book Love interview at the library. I enjoyed it so much and my only regret is I didn’t get an opportunity to tell you how good it is while you were here.
Thank you so much!
I am deeply moved by your novel. I teach senior English at an arts academy, and we are going to tackle this beautiful work in a couple of weeks. It is both challenging and necessary. Thank you.
This is wonderful! I’m more than pleased to hear that you enjoyed the book and plan to teach it. I would love to know where (city/state) your academy is located. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment!
Thank you so much for answering! We are in Rogers, Arkansas. The Arkansas Arts Academy. We do arts integration with core subjects, so we will be doingbarts along with this novel. I am equal parts excited and intimidated.
It’s great to hear this! Please let me know if I can do anything to help. I mean it!
I’ve just ordered your book for a YA lit class I’m teaching in the Fall at St. John Fisher University in Rochester, NY. It came highly recommended by a senior colleague, and I am eager to delve into it with my students.
Dear Fionnuala, forgive my tardiness in replying. More importantly, thank you for sharing this wonderful news with me! I appreciate your colleague’s kindness as well. I hope your students discover historical or personal insights in the pages of Darkroom. Please let me know if you or they have any questions. I promise to check my website comments much more frequently from now on! –Lila