On October 7th a married young couple said goodbye to each other without knowing when they will meet again. The man, Peleg (32), hurried to go out and join his fellow fighters in the military unit where he serves as a fighter reservist. The woman, Rotem (29), remained at home frightened by the information that began to circulate in the media and fearful for her husband’s fate. A 100 days later, when Peleg finally returned home from Gaza war Rotem realized that things are not as they were before her husband left. She didn’t understand what was going on with him and how to deal with her different husband – so she started illustrating their new reality.
Every day for the next 100 days she drew one illustration that captures a difficulty, strangeness, and incomprehensible behaviour of her husband such as disconnection, introversion, lack of concentration, jumpiness, inability to contain sounds, vigilance during sleep, wandering thoughts, and flashbacks to battlefield. All these are manifestations of post-traumatic stress disorder, that is, a reaction to the trauma Peleg experienced on the battlefield, and they are presented with great female honest and courage!
In Israel, and among soldiers who faught in other conflict areas in the world, there are many who suffer from post-trauma as a result of wars, however anyone who has experienced trauma of any circumstances and suffers from post-trauma can identify with the experiences Rotem describes in her illustrations and text. Moreover, for many readers who suffer PTSD it is easier to read a graphic work than text. And for the others, it helps to understand them.
On Two Fronts brings from the front of reality the pains, scars and holes in the heart carved by the war to the artistic front in a free, sometimes wild style, which highlights the restlessness and disruption of war to everyday life. The disorderly design reflects disorder feelings and restlessness behaviour in both spouses.
January 2025 | 240 pp. | 23.5 X 18cm | English, Hebrew

Rotem Codish, illustrator, holds MA in multidisciplinary design from Shenkar Institute for Design, Art, and Engineering. She lives with her husband, Peleg, an agronomist and a reserve fighter in a paratrooper patrol of the IDF, in a vilage in the south of Israel. In her works, she explores everyday life situations, putting a spotlight on the aspects of our daily experiances that we tend not to speak about. This is her first book.