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This first collection of poems reveals thoughtful expressions of compassion and sensitivity about the author and her world. Kelly Madden wields words, thoughts, and images like a surgeon, with quick numbing needle pricks, deft slices of exposure, then careful closure, to wrap the wound.
“If I’d Known is a powerful and evocative book of poetry. Kelly B. Madden is a fearless writer who weaves ordinary moments into poetry that connects us. She leads her readers through streets and alleys that bear witness to homelessness, addiction, loneliness, and suicide. If I’d Known also illuminates our complicated relationship with nature, whose meadows, forests, and oceans can invoke new understandings and heal old wounds. If I’d Known is a brave and timely work.”
Author Biography
Kelly B. Madden writes poetry, fiction and children’s stories. Her work has appeared in publications supported by the League of Canadian Poets, Reckoning 2 & 4, Island Writer’s Magazine and anthologies. She lives in the Comox Valley, BC.
Praise
Kelly Madden’s poems are survivors. Out of heartbreak and loss, and the struggle with despair, they bring us the small moments, vividly portrayed, that make life worth living. -John Donlan, Out All Day
Kelly Madden’s poetry is an elixir. If I’d Known is intense and relatable work, delving into jagged emotions that result in an empowering state of healing. What I love about this author’s writing is that it leaves one knowing none of us are alone. -Bill Arnott, Forever Cast in Endless Time
This first collection of poems reveals thoughtful expressions of compassion and sensitivity about the author and her world. Kelly Madden wields words, thoughts, and images like a surgeon, with quick numbing needle pricks, deft slices of exposure, then careful closure, to wrap the wound. -Jacquelyn Johnston, This Life I’ve Bled, A Memoir
If I’d Known is a courageous book that takes the reader on a journey into the author’s darkness along the edge of death. Loss, family history and grappling with suicide are offered in 8 sections and multiple vignettes with the poems providing a path to healing. -Daniel G. Scott, Poet and Editor; Editor of Voicing Suicide
In this collection, Kelly summons the courage to pull off the dressing to see what lurks beneath. She does not shy away from what she discovers but expresses, eloquently and succinctly, what she had refused to acknowledge, even to herself. Kelly shares her insights and discoveries generously (and fearlessly) with her readers and asks them to witness her truths with the same degree of compassion and grace she, herself, has drawn upon for this journey of revelation and redemption. -Ian Cognito, Much Adieu about Nothing, and Animusings
From page 1, Kelly Madden’s If I’d Known grabbed hold of me, swept me away in an undercurrent of struggle, carried me on swells of burgeoning courage, and sailed me through storms toward healing rays of hope. The heartfelt, raw and gritty writing stirs the emotions, evokes a prayer of consolation and a spirit of oneness with the author. Madden’s brutal honesty and gentle breath deeply moves. A balm for hurting souls. – Cindy Foley – author, Beyond the Dark, Healing in the Wake of Suicide.
Madden writes gripping poems that will leave you thinking, and maybe commiserating. It’s not easy to tackle life changing events and place them in a poem, but the author has done just that. Words are chosen carefully, a great deal of detail has gone into the use of space, subjects and visuals. From the poem “Codependent”: “A drowning man / grabbed onto me once // we both tread water for a while / before sinking.” These poems pull at your heart. They turn moments into pieces put together as a whole for the reader to share, learn, and to relate.
–Reviewed by LB Sedlacek, Pegasus Literary
9 x 6 – 126 Pages
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