By Mark Muckenfuss

Michelle Lewis is finding joy in life, in work and in a newly published book of cartoons.

Lewis is a lecturer in Cal State Monterey Bay’s Social Sciences and Global Studies department. She also teaches First Year Seminar courses, serves as the faculty associate for assessment for University College, and is a cartoonist in her spare time. Her strip, Finding Joy, appears in Growing Up Santa Cruz, a monthly parenting magazine. 

Lewis previously authored the award-winning “Women at the Crossroads,” an account of her evaluation of an HIV prevention program for sex workers in Senegal.

“Finding Joy: Love, Loss and Laughter” fits into a decidedly lighter and more creative vein and is her first published book of cartoons. Devoted as much to philosophy as to humor, the book examines love and relationships in an arc that moves from dysfunction to self-realization and healing. 

“That’s the journey I’ve been on,” Lewis said.

The journey began nearly nine years ago when Lewis unexpectedly found herself single again. She was faced with squaring the dream of everlasting love, so deeply entrenched in Western culture, against the reality she was experiencing. 

“We’re told at an early age to find somebody who will save us so we can live happily ever after with them,” she said. “The book is about that not happening, and asking, ‘Now what?’”

That question is dealt with in a clearly intellectual tone. Lewis has a doctorate in cultural anthropology from The American University and spent 25 years conducting social science research for many U.S. and international organizations, including the CDC and the Santa Cruz AIDS Project, where she was executive director for three years. She became a college instructor in 2009 and has taught at George Washington University and The American University, as well as Monterey Peninsula, Gavilan and Cabrillo colleges. 

Her research, her exposure to other cultures, and her conversations with friends who were going through experiences similar to hers have all infused and enriched her cartoons, she said.

“It’s a commentary on how our culture depicts how relationships are supposed to look,” she said. “The hope is for others to see that the way in which the media depicts it doesn’t match real life. It’s time for a new dream that’s attainable and honors our true needs.”

She began drawing about 12 years ago as a way to supplement her therapy and process her experiences and emotions.

“I realized that drawing what I was feeling helped me visualize it, express it and move on,” Lewis said. 

“The cartoons run the gamut in terms of topics, such as relationships, self-growth, spirituality, parenting, and commentary about our humanness,” she said. “When I sorted through my pile of about 400 cartoons, I realized I had a lot about relationships, so I put those together for this first book.” 

She describes her style as what might happen if the strips Cathy and The Far Side had a love child. The drawings, which she describes as “fifth-grade level,” are fleshed out with primary colors. While there are some strips, most of the work is single-panel cartoons, which are more often humorous observations than jokes with punchlines. There are plenty of thought-provoking “Aha” moments along the way.