Cartoonist draws about his life as Poppy's dad

By Louise Kinross

In 2015, British Telegraph cartoonist Bob Moran illustrated a heartfelt memoir about his daughter's birth with a brain injury. Called Father's Days, it contrasts how he imagined his new role as dad would go with the terror of seeing his newborn hooked up to machines and tubes. "I just didn't feel strong enough," he says, as an illustration of him lying prone on the floor after being sent home from the hospital appears.

The piece is packed with heartbreak and fear. That one line—"I just didn't feel strong enough"—I'm sure has been said, or felt, by every parent of a child born critically ill or with disabilities.

Poppy, Bob's daughter, is now three years old and diagnosed with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Earlier this week Bob released a new video about the family's first trip, a cruise around the Mediterranean: Father's Days At Sea. It's a lovely look at how Bob's fears about Poppy's safety on the ship give way to seeing the holiday through her "cheeky, confident, life-loving" eyes. It, too, is a must-see.

Bob has agreed to do an interview with BLOOM, so stay tuned to read about what he's learned through illustrating his parenting experiences.