Just So Happens

A beautiful and observant graphic novel.

James Smart, Guardian

This is a book you may want to study, a book of inflection and nuance, a delicate, thoughtful book that entrances the eyes and compels the old grey matter.

Bookmunch

A powerful story dealt with a deft brush in hand.

Monocle

Just So Happens feels so richly intimate... [Obata] is a talent to watch. I like his elegant, understated drawings, which hint at the manga stories he must have read as a boy. Bullet trains, Shinto temples, shopping malls, sushi restaurants: he does them all beautifully. His storytelling, too, is crazily accomplished.

Rachel Cooke, Observer

Told with great care and dignity... The illustrations reflect the mood of the story perfectly, creating a sense of movement and transition which mirrors Yumiko's journey.

Vicki Bartram, UK Press Syndication

Rich in detail.

Yo Zushi, New Statesman

A powerful story with beautiful drawings. It's a triumph. A debut of quiet and delicate beauty, this is the graphic novel for the thinking creative.

Natalie Brandweiner, Creative Bloq

This is a fascinating, often deeply moving, story which shows that while sport initially defined whoGareth Thomas was, everything changed when another facet of his life was revealed

Press Association

Astonishingly powerful

The Times

Incredibly powerful

Attitude

Inspiring and moving

Daily Telegraph

Sensational

Rugby World

In a year when some of the highest-profile sporting memoirs have been marked by self-serving narcissism, this is a story of substance

Daily Telegraph

Proud offers an enthralling insight into a world and a struggle to which we are rarely given access…Thomas’ story is a harrowing reminder that sportsmen are as vulnerable as the rest of us…The honesty with which Thomas presents his many dark moments makes this an absolute must-read, whether rugby fan or not. Rarely has the sense that sport is only a game rang truer. An eye-opening glimpse into the inner turmoil of a national hero

SPORT

Searingly honest

THE HERALD

This book is as inspiring as it is moving and depressing. A must read…It is breathtaking

DAILY MAIL

A story of extraordinary courage, both in and outside the sporting world…It's another sporting book that transcends sport, and Thomas should be loudly and gloriously celebrated for writing it

Independent

Thomas’s autobiography is remarkable not for his open gayness but for the truthfulness that permeates every page

The Sunday Times

Astonishing in its candour…this is a tale of hope

The Times