Breath & Shadow
Fall 2021 - Vol. 18, Issue 4
New On The Bookshelf
written by
Breath and Shadow
Swimming Not Drowning: A Memoir in Verse by Mari-Carmen Marín
(Legacy Press, 2021)
Swimming, Not Drowning takes the reader on the poet’s journey through her struggles with an anxiety disorder that often leads to depression. The first part, “Deep Water,” explores the author’s childhood, family, personality, fears, disappointments, the generalized public unfamiliarity with mental illness, and other factors conducive to the onset of depression. The second part, “Drowning,” depicts what it feels like to be trapped in the disabling claws of the depression monster. The last part, “Swimming,” is a testament of hope, reassuring the reader that with patience, understanding, and support, everybody can learn how to “swim” the deep waters without drowning.
About her book, Marín said, “The poems in this book were born out of my need to give a specific shape to the chaos in my mind. Once on paper, my feelings and thoughts became palpable, and I could look at them with the perspective of an outsider.”
Learn more: https://legacybookpress.com/swimming-not-drowning/.
Changing Ways: A Novel by Bruce Ario
Changing Ways is the story of a young woman lost in her mental illness who battles with her father for no other reason than rebellion. The father who is a judge in the Manhattan Mental Health Court is a saint who never loses faith on getting his daughter back. But she wants to grow beyond what his vision for her is.
https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Ways-Bruce-D-Ario/dp/1839455004
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/changing-ways-bruce-d-ario/1137948474
Songs for the Pilgrimage by Lynda Mckinney Lambert
(DLD Books, April 2020)
The word pilgrimage refers to a religious journey. Individuals commit to traveling to reach a predetermined destination, such as a shrine or holy place. The excursion is a trek from one location to another. Pilgrimage has been an abiding theme in my writing for several decades.
My first book, Concerti: Psalms for the Pilgrimage (Kota Press, 2002, now out of print), was inspired by my annual journeys to Salzburg, Austria, where I taught a month–long drawing and writing course. I revised and expanded the previous collection of stories, poems, historical notes, and journal entries for this new book. Songs for the Pilgrimage features writings, drawings, and photographs I created over four decades.
I conclude with an artist’s prayer:
My studio is yours, Lord. Be my welcome guest today. Your goodness and unfailing kindness have been with me all my life. I have tried to make your glory visible in the works of art I have created. Someday I will close the door of my studio for the final time, but I will not be alone. Together, we will go to your home, where we will continue to collaborate on glorious projects throughout eternity. Amen.
Smashwords e-book: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1080756
Paperback at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Songs-Pilgrimage-Lynda-McKinney-Lambert/dp/B0932Q3JBC/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1627314509&sr=1-1