We are pleased to announce that the AY 2025-2026 Maine College of Art & Design First-Year Experience Common Read is the graphic memoir Feeding Ghosts by artist and writer Tessa Hulls.
FYE Common Read Book
This year, MECA&D First-Year students will read Feeding Ghosts and reflect on the themes of memory, legacy, identity, and resilience.
This graphic memoir combines history, personal narrative, and visual storytelling to explore themes of intergenerational trauma, migration, mental health, and resilience through the lens of Hull’s matrilineal line. Weaving together research, autobiography, and illustration, Feeding Ghosts invites us to consider how memory and legacy shape identity—and how creativity can be a powerful tool for healing, truth-telling, and transformation.
“Feeding Ghosts invites us to consider how memory and legacy shape identity. Creativity can be a powerful tool for truth-telling and transformation.”
President Laura Freid and Dean of Undergraduate Studies Paul Gebhardt explain in a joint letter that accompanies the book, which all incoming students receive as part of their welcome packet.
While the entire MECA&D community is encouraged to participate in the Common Read, Feeding Ghosts has been assigned to all incoming first-year students to read over the summer. Students are also asked to respond with a creative project that will be exhibited on campus during Orientation.
Copies of Feeding Ghosts are available in the Joanne Waxman Library.
Special thanks to Carly Brody ’26 and Adelle Smith ’26 for designing the 2025 Common Read packet shared with incoming students.