Invitations: Fiction and Poetry From A Life of Writing

by Bruce Ballard

What would you do if you were told you had Parkinson’s disease in the prime of your life?

Would you wallow in self-pity, or would you continue to write poems and stories with great enthusiasm? Would you use your disease as an excuse to withdraw from the world, focusing solely on your physical health, or would you challenge yourself to explore new ways to write about Parkinson’s, perhaps through sonnets and other forms of poetry?

In Fiction and Poetry From A Life of Writing by Bruce Ballard, you'll witness how one writer navigates these questions, not only through his writing about Parkinson’s but also through the exploration of related themes such as life, love, sickness, and death.

148 pages, Paperback

Published June 11, 2024

Reviews

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant, compelling, and hopeful memoir about the author's life after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's. Uses poems and stories woven together in a unique and creative way. Inspiring!

[Clifford · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's unusual to mix poetry and fiction in a single collection, especially when the two modes address different facets of the author's life. Much of the poetry deals with the author's Parkinson's Disease journey, and that's very poignant. The longer pieces, stories about gay men, remind me of Alan Hollinghurst's work, which can be shocking to a straight person. But why, really? I don't know, but it's important to recognize that the stories are well told, no matter how they may affect some readers.

[Emily | bookwhispererem · Rating 3 out of 5]

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐓𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐱𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐁𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧. 𝐇𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐞—𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥.

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐝. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐈’𝐦 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐝'𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 (𝐚𝐥𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐝) 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐵𝓇𝓊𝒸𝑒 𝐵𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓇𝒹, 𝒜𝓉𝓂𝑜𝓈𝓅𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒫𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓈, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

[Allison Caudill · Rating 3 out of 5]

I typically don't venture into the world of poetry books but thought I would try out Bruce Ballard's Invitations. Initially drawn given his honest reflection of having Parkinson's (I am an OT and work in the research/science world) and thought that the way he spoke about PD was intriguing and evocative. I'm realizing now that I'm not reeeeeeeeeally a poetry person and don't think I will be venturing this way any further.

Regardless, I didn't hate it and can respect it for what it is. Do I recommend it? Maybe. Will I read it again? Probably not.

Thank you NetGalley and Atmosphere Press for the advanced reader copy of this book (even though I didn't finish this until post-publication).

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC. Thank you to Atmosphere Press

The concept of poetry woven with narratives that draw from personal experiences was a new experience for me. Ballard did a spectacular job navigating a difficult (and quite frankly) sad thing and honoring that but also weaving in comedy to keep the reader going. I think about one poem all the time now that talks about his Parkinson's being an unwanted and unexpected quest. I'm privileged enough to have never been affected by Parkinson's or know anyone who has, but comparing the disease to an unwanted guest made it applicable to a lot of other things which in turn resonates with the reader more.

[Jailene · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly thought this collection of stories was really interesting, but maybe not all meant to be together. I think the stories about nights out in New York in sex clubs leading up to Ballard’s marriage would’ve been a much smoother angle to go about it. Or just having a book strictly on Parkinson’s because the sections that do focus on it are so strong and really beautiful, but then they get muddled by the things in between.

I also think the use of “you” or second person is done really well in this anthology. Ballard really knows how to immerse his readers into his memories which I think is really cool. Overall an interesting read.

[Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

Invitations by Bruce Ballard takes on some deeply personal themes, including his struggle with Parkinson’s, through a mix of poetry and short stories. While I was intrigued by the premise, the writing felt a bit too simplistic for me and didn’t pack the emotional punch I was hoping for. The different pieces didn’t really come together as a cohesive whole, which made it hard to stay engaged.

[Kapiolani · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderfully well done book about not letting a disease stop you or slow you down. Throughly enjoyed. Thanks so much for the arc NetGalley!