Letdown

(Paperback)

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A hybrid memoir and valentine to her firstborn, Letdown encompasses the story of a woman when fertility issues arise at the same time the diagnosis of her son's autism, complicating motherhood in unexpected ways. Portrays the transcendence found amidst difficulty.

Reviews

With Letdown, Sonia Greenfield proves herself a master of the prose poem, finding just the right metaphor, just the right syntax. This book-length sequence reads like a love story between a mother and her son, and like all love storiesall the true ones, anywaythere is pain alongside the joy. Greenfield takes us down into the dark, confronting what it is to feel helpless against your childs suffering, to mother a child with special needs, to recalibrate ones life after loss. But she also leads us back into bright California sunlight, where we find the boyand this messy liferising from the depths, buoyant, better than expected. Maggie Smith, author of Good Bones Beautifully constructed in sixty stand-alone parts, this book-length poem presentsartfully, honestlya womans difficult parsing of motherhood. We first meet her in the hospital suite, the careful birth-plan abandoned, as it was as effective as closing a sliding door on a tsunami. Later, we follow her confusion and terror through her sons autism diagnosis; during the EEG test, she distracts him as wires are gelled to his head, saying, Look, now you get to become a robot. Her sons traumatic medical journey is detailed alongside her hidden trauma, fertility loss. Sonia Greenfield has used her excellent ear and metaphorical power to create a moving and necessary book. Beth Ann Fennelly, author of Heating & Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs

Author Bio

Sonia Greenfield lives with her husband, son, and two rescue dogs in Minneapolis, where she edits the Rise Up Review and teaches at Normandale College. Her work has appeared twice in Best American Poetry, among other places. Letdown is her second book.