Almost Crimson

<p><strong>CECE HAS SPENT HER LIFE </strong>coloring inside the lines-trying to stay small stay steady and stay invisible within the shadow of her mother's unrelenting sadness a force she quietly calls the Sad. Raised in a world shaped by depression poverty and silence CeCe becomes a master at survival-but not at living.</p><p></p><p>In <strong><em>Almost Crimson</em></strong> Dasha Kelly delivers a lyrical and deeply human portrait of a young woman on the cusp of becoming her full self. As CeCe unravels the inherited tangle of guilt loyalty and longing she begins to question: Who is she without the weight of her past? And what does it mean to choose joy for yourself when sorrow has always been your home?</p><p></p><p>Poignant poetic and fiercely honest<em> </em><strong><em>Almost Crimson</em></strong> is a story of generational trauma quiet resilience and the transformative power of self-definition. For anyone who has ever had to unlearn how they were taught to love-this is your book.</p><p></p><p><strong>DASHA KELLY is a writer performance artist and creative change agent. </strong>A former Poet Laureate for Milwaukee and Wisconsin she is a <strong>National Laureate Fellow</strong> with the <strong>Academy of American Poets</strong> and an alum of <em>HBO's</em> <strong>Def Poetry Jam.</strong> As a mainstage storyteller with <strong>The Moth</strong> and creator of the touring show <em>Makin' Cake</em> she sparks dialogue on race class and equity. She has served as a <strong>U.S. Embassy Arts Envoy</strong> and founded <strong><em>Still Waters Collective</em></strong> a nonprofit uplifting community voices for 25 years.</p>