Kader's Quest

Middle school student Kader is on the precipice of the turbulent path to adulthood. Join him on this journey of discovery and healing through dazzling art replete with puzzles, hidden images, symbolism, reflection and silence. Award-winning artist Nadir Balan brings this deeply human story to life with stunning illustrations that invite readers to feel every emotion alongside Kader as he uncovers his past and searches for belonging. Written by psychiatrist Dr. Yener Balan and psychotherapist Duygu Balan, this graphic novel embraces raw vulnerability and authentic experiences, creating a story that feels real, digestible, and powerfully relatable. Kader's Quest offers behavioral health specialists an invaluable therapeutic tool that resonates with young adults facing similar struggles with family dynamics, anxiety, friendship, bullies, and major life transitions. The carefully crafted narrative allows readers to process their own complex emotions through Kader's journey, helping them feel seen in their experiences. For professionals working with teens who struggle to articulate their feelings, this graphic novel provides a meaningful conversation starter grounded in evidence-based principles, making it a compelling read and a powerful clinical resource.

Nadir Balan is an award-winning illustrator with two decades of experience spanning Marvel Comics, blockbuster film franchises like Clash of the Titans, and collaborations with legends including Stan Lee and William Shatner, earning 'Outstanding Book of The Year' for God Woke. His work graces the covers of academic texts, scientific journals, and graphic novels (Dan Fogler's Moon Lake, Heavy Metal Magazine), while his paintings live in the permanent collection of the New Haven Museum, where he's lectured on art painting techniques and World War I. A renaissance man in every sense, Nadir moonlights as Operations Director at an Ivy League university theatre and dedicates his remaining time to animal rescue. Yener Balan is a board-certified psychiatrist, Vice President of Behavioral Health at a major healthcare organization, and bestselling author. A Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and sought-after global speaker, he has spent years in high-volume emergency departments transforming how healthcare systems integrate behavioral health through innovation and person-centered care. Born and raised in New York City, Yener now calls the San Francisco Bay Area home, where he lives with his wife, and their son, balancing his mission to reshape healthcare with the art of being present for the people he loves most. Duygu Balan is a licensed psychotherapist, certified trauma professional, and author who has spent over a decade helping individuals rewrite the narratives that keep them stuck. Her work bridges clinical expertise with the healing power of storytelling, authoring Re-Write: A Trauma Workbook of Creative Writing and Recovery in Our New Normal (Routledge, 2023), and Confidently Chill: An Anxiety Workbook for New Adults (Routledge, 2024), while contributing her Psychology Today column, Un-Numb, where she explores identity, relationships, and how pop culture portrays mental health. Born in Germany and shaped by her years between Hannover, Istanbul, and New York City, she brings a multicultural lens to understanding trauma, attachment, and belonging. Duygu now divides her time between New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area, where she continues to write, consult, and speak on the intersection of psychology and creative storytelling. In Kader's Quest (Routledge, 2026), the Balans transform adolescence into a stunning visual odyssey where middle schooler Kader's search for belonging mirrors every reader's journey, proving through dazzling art and symbolism that the most profound healing happens when we recognize ourselves in another's story and realize we hold the pen.

The story is of a young boy on a journey of discovering his identity, making peace with his family and beginning to heal from his anxiety. The backstory is his mother got pregnant at an early age, gave him to his paternal grandmother who raised him as his mother. He never met his bio mother, and always thought his bio father was an uncle away at college. The plot evolves as the boy discovers his caregiver is not his mother, as she is dying of an illness. This is within the setting of him becoming a teenager, and also being introduced to and having to live with his father for the first time. The narrative continues with the boy beginning mental health therapy, and recreating dynamics with his father, exploring his place in the world as he realizes he has no real parental figure. The boy's desire for connection, anxieties of not having a container of a home, and search for belonging are complicated with issues of being bullied on social media and at school. The journey concludes as he learns to forgive, creates his own narrative, and allows his own healing to begin.