Bücher von Elya Braden

The Sight of Invisible Longing explores the shattering and remaking of identity following the end of a long marriage. If a woman is no longer wife or primary caretaker of her children, who is she and where does she belong in this world? Her dreams of flight share both a sense of the untethered and a desire to live free of traditional roles and expectations. In these linked poems and collages, Braden exposes the raw wound of her grief, recognizing that imperfection is the bread of fellowship, and invites the reader on her journey to reconcile her past through rediscovering her sensuality, reclaiming her voice and recovering her spiritual connection.

In Open The Fist, the poet navigates the primal impulses of sexuality, violation and reclamation. She shines a light into the dark corners of her family dynamics, grappling with what it means to be born a girl, to survive into womanhood and to look back. These poems bear witness to the healing power of truth-telling. Childhood trauma may cast its long shadow, but through the alchemy of poetry, Braden transforms her past into a path to forgiveness. In the end, the reader celebrates with the poet as she exclaims: "Risk the ricochet of fate/taunt the gods/with your raucous joy!"