A Socially Acceptable Breakdown

by Patrick Roche

2022 Eric Hoffer Awards - Poetry Finalist

A poetry collection pulling from the author's personal narrative to take the reader on a journey through family, mental health, grief, pop culture, body image, queer identity, love, joy, memory, myth, and magic. The collection follows a trajectory of 1) exploring identity, avoidance, escapism, and shame, then 2) facing and confronting fears, shame, grief, and self-image, and finally 3) breaking down stigma, searching for joy, finding self-acceptance, and the value of storytelling and sharing as a tool to connect, love, and choose progress.

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2021

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection! A little like blud and a little like crush, though not as sophisticated or fully realized a voice as McKibbens or Siken. It's a lovely, lonely meditation on mental illness, queer yearning, and familial trauma. The poems on depression particularly sing.

[Erin Clements · Rating 3 out of 5]

“There’s a difference between the future and just extending the present. Don’t mistake them. […] The sadness is real whether you say it or not. The sadness is only a hydra if you call it one. Even if you slice one head off and find three more. There’s a difference between Sisyphus and slow progress. […] You have so many odes left to write and so few tomorrows you have promised yourself. That doesn’t seem fair, kid. There’s a difference between you and yesterday. One still exists.” - Open Letter to the Author

I love the cover, and the poems were good, I just didn’t connect to the vast majority of them.