Leaving Normal

"Gina Forberg's new book, Leaving Normal invites us into a microcosmic world delving deep into her role not only as a daughter to her dying mother but also as a mother raising a son with special needs. Through driving narrative and lyricism she asks us to bear witness to the difficult, the unspoken and fear surrounding these events. In the poem Leaving Normal, she speaks to us with an honest, no holds barred voice: When my son says, "fuck" instead of "truck," "weed" instead of "read," I am grateful for the sounds he makes, for the missed chords, for the imperfection of song. This honesty and authenticity is pervasive throughout the book. When she can hardly bare another moment of her mother's suffering she admits in Bedtime Story: When her breathing became labored / I was grateful / for the thunder of the subway, passing, // silencing her body. All night I lay there / and when I heard / the rails rattle, I wanted one train // then another. Leaving Normal is a book of unparalleled compassion, devotion and love. It is Gina Forberg at her most revelatory, vulnerable self.