What Neil Gaiman Taught Me About Storytelling and Why I’m Letting Go of His Books

Neil Gaiman taught me a lot about storytelling. When I first read The Sandman, I felt like I had found a doorway into the kind of worlds I always wanted to create. His characters were strange and deep and broken in the right ways. The way he weaved mythology with modern life lit something up in my own imagination. He didn’t write safe stories. He wrote truths dressed in shadows and dreams.

Because of him, I got better at building my own characters. I started thinking about what they feared, what they secretly wanted, what made them laugh even when the world was crumbling around them. His work reminded me that the best stories aren’t neat. They’re complicated, messy, flawed, just like us.

But lately I’ve been sitting with something harder.

I saw the online conversations about his defense of certain authors accused of harm. I watched how people raised concerns about his choices and statements, especially in relation to trans and survivor communities. I tried to separate the art from the artist. I really did.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn’t unsee the patterns. For someone whose work shaped the way I understand empathy and nuance, it hurt to see him use his platform in ways that didn’t feel aligned with what I believed in.

So I made a decision. I’m letting go of my signed Neil Gaiman books. These books meant something to me. They helped shape my creative voice. And now they’re going to help someone else.

I’m donating them to raise funds for RAINN, a national organization that supports survivors of sexual violence. It feels like a way to turn disappointment into action. A way to honor the lessons I learned from his stories while also choosing integrity.

I still believe in magic. I still believe in stories that change lives. But I want the stories I surround myself with to match the values I hold.

Letting go isn’t easy. But sometimes it’s the most powerful thing we can do.