crash & bloom

mama am I going to make it is it going to be okay<br />will I lose my breasts my hair my eyelashes<br />will I lose my identity femininity my dignity<br />will I recognize myself in mirrors in photos in memories<br />who will I become if I no longer look like your daughter<br />mama what do I make of this life that's not my own<br /><br />Grief loss isolation depression... what do you do when as a young woman a cancer diagnosis<br />crashes into your life taking away your identity and your vision of the future? Crash & Bloom<br />charts the poet's personal cancer experience as a young woman in the middle of the pandemic <br />as she attempts to find her way forward. The poems in this collection are also a celebration-a<br />celebration of life at its bare bones and the strength and grace that it's possible to find in times<br />of extreme challenge.<br />Crash & Bloom is dedicated to those moving through the stages of grief and as a validation of<br />young people with cancer especially women to show them they are not alone and there is<br />beauty joy and creativity on the other side.<br /><br />when I was shaken<br />off my feet<br />I fell to the ground<br />looked up<br />saw the stars<br />the mountains<br />& felt the bliss<br />of absolute stillness<br />in my soul