Ash has always felt alone—different from other kids, who would rather think about pop stars than what’s happening to the climate, and misunderstood by their family, who have too much going on to pay attention to them. Now that Ash is a teen, they start to think that some time spent alone in the wilderness might alleviate their alienation and provide solace. In the graphic novel Ash’s Cabin (First Second, Aug. 13), bestselling author and illustrator Jen Wang has penned a poignant tale of self-discovery that Kirkus’ critic, in a starred review, calls “searing and radiant.” Gentle illustrations evoke the beauty of the wild and capture Ash’s journey—its challenges and its joys—in all its complexity. Wang spoke with Kirkus by Zoom from Los Angeles; the following has been edited for length and clarity.

What inspired Ash’s Cabin?

Some of my favorite books as a kid were survival kid lit, like Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphins, Gary Paulsen’s Hatchet, or Jean Craighead George’s My Side of the Mountain. That sort of thing was really appealing to me. I started thinking, What if I could do a book like that, but as a graphic novel, where there are diagrams and drawings of what the shelter would look like, things like that I found to be really fun?

Once I started writing it, I had to think: If I were a kid now, what are the things that would make me want to leave home? If I were 15 years old now, why would I feel so drawn to run away? That’s where it started, and it kept growing from there.

The book was a treasure trove, the little diagrams and to-do lists and guides—it was like two books in one. How did you do the research?

I was already reading and looking at this kind of stuff for fun. There’s a whole community of people who are very into survival—it’s their hobby. There’s a lot of information out there on YouTube and in books. I even took a one-day class that teaches you basic things like how to start a fire or identify plants.

It’s not like I’ve ever been camping alone—I’m not into solo survival myself. It was just a lot of fun research. And I tried not to get bogged down in the details. I felt like the most important thing was just making sure that it felt believable enough while keeping what the character was going through emotionally as the focus.

Ash’s family is so perfectly depicted—they love Ash and want to help but just don’t get them (that proposed trip to Disneyland!).

They’re very well meaning and generally supportive. They want everything to be OK. But there are three kids; it’s a handful. The way I imagined it, it’s one of those things where they just don’t know what to do with Ash, and they’re just kind of busy and just not able to spend the kind of time figuring out what’s going on.

You’ve accomplished something that’s difficult for writers: to write an engaging story where art and a greater social message are combined without being heavy-handed.

Anytime I’ve tried to write something with the specific intention of getting a political point of view across, it just doesn’t work, because there’s not really a story there. I’m just telling you something that you could read in a blog post. Writing a full story helps you move away from that because you have to think about the characters. Every character I’ve ever written is me in a way, but also separate enough from me that I can think about them as characters. They represent experiences that I’ve had, but I don’t necessarily have their same backstories or their same reactions to things. And I think that makes it easier to give context to the message. I don’t feel like I’m speaking through the character. I watch Ash make mistakes, and see that they have their own flaws; all that makes it a more human experience. I don’t end up with a pure message.

Which parts of Ash’s Cabin feel most personal to you?

I think of myself at that age, when I was just very disconnected from people and alienated from my peers, but there was always that glimmer of Oh, here’s this teacher who seems really kind. Or some figures that aren’t really your peers, but they give you the sense of what there is to come, what more you’ll discover about yourself. Now I realize they’d probably seen other kids like me before. Now I can put myself in both shoes. I can remember being a teenager, but I also understand what it is to be that adult and see a young person and want to tell them that you know it’s tough now. It’s tough now, but you’re not alone, and you’ll learn so much about yourself and about the world.

How did your career get started? Do you have any advice for someone who might want to begin writing and illustrating like you?

I was always interested in drawing and writing, any kind of storytelling. When I was a kid, I imagined I was going to work in animation. But once I discovered manga in high school, it felt like something I could start doing. I didn’t have to get a job working at a studio; I could just start drawing comics in my sketchbooks—and that’s where it all started.

There are always young people who want to know how to get into writing or drawing or whatever it is they’re interested in. I always tell them that the most important part of it is just being passionate and starting to do it, because a lot of people get stuck at the starting gate or they feel like they need permission to do it. The point is, you can be your own teacher. If you want, you can go to art school; if you want to take classes, that’s totally cool. You should do it if that’s what you want, but if that’s not accessible to you, or if you’re not ready for it, you can just start drawing in your sketchbook. You can just start writing; do whatever you can to get those juices flowing. You don’t need any special equipment. Everybody has access to the internet, to tools you can draw with. You can write and draw with your peers or share on social media if you want. The barriers are much lower now.

And, you know, anytime you have people who are very passionate about something—I think you’ll find comics just so happens to be one of those mediums that has a lot of very passionate people, either readers or creators. Now you can connect with people who don’t live in your city, you can go to conventions or just be online and find other people on social media. Tell people that you read their comic and you liked it, and they can do the same for you.

Christine Gross-Loh is the author of Parenting Without Borders and The Path.