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Drive Here and Devastate Me
Megan Falley's much-anticipated fourth collection of poetry shocks you with its whether through exacting wit or lush lyrical imagery.
"Falley has turned her personal experiences into public prose, exposing her queerness and the raw chasm between self-confidence and self-doubt. She's dissected moments in her own life that've helped her and her listeners comprehend a woman's existence on Earth." - Boulder Weekly
*National Poetry Slam Finalist
*Pushcart Prize Nominee
It is clear that the author is madly in love, not only with her partner for whom she writes both idiosyncratic and sultry poems for, but in love with language, in love with queerness, in love with the therapeutic process of bankrupting the politics of shame. These poems tackle gun violence, toxic masculinity, LGBTQ* struggles, suicidality, and the oppression of women's bodies, while maintaining a vivid wildness that the tongue aches to speak aloud. Known best for breathtaking last lines and truths that will bowl you over, Drive Here and Devastate Me will “relinquish you from the possibility of meeting who you could have been, and regretting who you became.”
"Falley has turned her personal experiences into public prose, exposing her queerness and the raw chasm between self-confidence and self-doubt. She's dissected moments in her own life that've helped her and her listeners comprehend a woman's existence on Earth." - Boulder Weekly
*National Poetry Slam Finalist
*Pushcart Prize Nominee
It is clear that the author is madly in love, not only with her partner for whom she writes both idiosyncratic and sultry poems for, but in love with language, in love with queerness, in love with the therapeutic process of bankrupting the politics of shame. These poems tackle gun violence, toxic masculinity, LGBTQ* struggles, suicidality, and the oppression of women's bodies, while maintaining a vivid wildness that the tongue aches to speak aloud. Known best for breathtaking last lines and truths that will bowl you over, Drive Here and Devastate Me will “relinquish you from the possibility of meeting who you could have been, and regretting who you became.”
112 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2018
54 people are currently reading
1473 people want to read
About the author
Megan Falley
9 books269 followersAfter receiving her degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from the State University of New York at New Paltz, Megan left her college town slam poet legacy for a bigger stage in NYC. Since then she has been published in a party of literary magazines including PANK, The Legendary, Kill Author, decomP magazinE, and The Literary Bohemian. In 2010 she recorded a CD, A Damsel's Guide to Distress, whose tracks were featured on the spoken word podcast IndieFeed. Falley is best known for her fearlessness in subject matter, metaphor and performance.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
March 13, 2023
"The morning after Orlando,
we hang our heads half-staff.
My love shrugs my arm off their shoulderand reminds me where we are:
We’re at a rest stop, we’re somewhere
in the Midwest.
The shooter’s father said his son
opened up the chest of that nightclub
and undid its pulse because he saw two men
kissing in the street. I try to kiss my love
in the street. Even after, I have a hard time
believing anyone would want me
to die for this...
It’s like killing someone for dancing,
or for praying, or for being a child—which I guess
this world also does now—while a love note in a locker
turns death threat. While a boy leaves the closet
only to lock himself in the river.
And now, even pride feels like a casket.
And now, the rainbow bleeds out.
And now, I see a man buy a rifle in a Walmart and I don’t know
whether to hold my love’s hand tighter
or to let it go.
I watch my love from the crack of the rest stop stall.
I know what a haircut like theirs can launch
in a town with this much belief
in god.
So we walk back to the car like siblings
where nothing can kill us
but the news on the radio."
I've read many poetry anthologies that I have enjoyed or that have moved me in some way and if even one single line resonates with me, from throughout the collection, then I feel it was my worth my time in having read it. Rarely do I find such a connection with every word, every line, and every poem in the way that I did here. Flawless is the one word I would use to describe this! Also, devastating!
Megan Falley tackles many topics here, such as queerness, toxic masculinity, female fear, gun crime, religion and so, so much more. Some topics were based upon her personal experiences but all managed to convey universal emotions throughout them. I spent an afternoon with tears in my eyes and a heart both full and breaking due to these impressive contents. I definitely have a new favourite poet!
"a brave woman
stood up in an ocean of alone
and said, me
and
as if she summoned
sisters from the sea,
they raised their hands
like an army of answers,
an echo that would change
the tide, quiet at first,
then amplified
by the bittersweet gift
of not only one back
to carry the burden,
and, like a trust fall
long overdue, she was caught
by the sound of thousands
of opening arms, voices
of the voiceless, speaking
me too."
we hang our heads half-staff.
My love shrugs my arm off their shoulderand reminds me where we are:
We’re at a rest stop, we’re somewhere
in the Midwest.
The shooter’s father said his son
opened up the chest of that nightclub
and undid its pulse because he saw two men
kissing in the street. I try to kiss my love
in the street. Even after, I have a hard time
believing anyone would want me
to die for this...
It’s like killing someone for dancing,
or for praying, or for being a child—which I guess
this world also does now—while a love note in a locker
turns death threat. While a boy leaves the closet
only to lock himself in the river.
And now, even pride feels like a casket.
And now, the rainbow bleeds out.
And now, I see a man buy a rifle in a Walmart and I don’t know
whether to hold my love’s hand tighter
or to let it go.
I watch my love from the crack of the rest stop stall.
I know what a haircut like theirs can launch
in a town with this much belief
in god.
So we walk back to the car like siblings
where nothing can kill us
but the news on the radio."
I've read many poetry anthologies that I have enjoyed or that have moved me in some way and if even one single line resonates with me, from throughout the collection, then I feel it was my worth my time in having read it. Rarely do I find such a connection with every word, every line, and every poem in the way that I did here. Flawless is the one word I would use to describe this! Also, devastating!
Megan Falley tackles many topics here, such as queerness, toxic masculinity, female fear, gun crime, religion and so, so much more. Some topics were based upon her personal experiences but all managed to convey universal emotions throughout them. I spent an afternoon with tears in my eyes and a heart both full and breaking due to these impressive contents. I definitely have a new favourite poet!
"a brave woman
stood up in an ocean of alone
and said, me
and
as if she summoned
sisters from the sea,
they raised their hands
like an army of answers,
an echo that would change
the tide, quiet at first,
then amplified
by the bittersweet gift
of not only one back
to carry the burden,
and, like a trust fall
long overdue, she was caught
by the sound of thousands
of opening arms, voices
of the voiceless, speaking
me too."
October 12, 2023
All the stars for this wordsmith. Meg Falley is a mindful architect of language and emotion. I've been listening to her readings and reading her work -- never tiring of it. Recently she was a guest on the podcast We Can Do Hard Things (hosted by Glennon Doyle and Abby Wambach for this episode). Meg and her partner, Andrea Gibson were a welcome surprise. It is my hope Meg's poems find their way into the hearts and minds of readers worldwide. ~
August 28, 2019
Said the Gun to the Woman on Her Way to Planned Parenthood
What pisses me off is that you are the one
they call murderer. Treat me like a thing
to protect, and you get to be the monster.
Like it was not me who shot
up the club and gave new meaning
to a last dance. Not me who sat back
in my hotel room and turned the music festival
into one long scream. Not me who interrupted
a classroom of children learning ABCs
and punctuation and taught them
how I. End.
A sentence.
They say you think
you can play god, but in this country, I am god.
They'll argue that I'm innocent.
Closets of suits will pledge allegiance, write clean,
crisp, amendments while you do nothing
but choose to save your life and you get riots
outside the clinic, a bomb in the belly
of a dumpster. Tell me, what have you been
aiming for? Joy? Freedom? A body
that is yours? Let's be clear:
I'm the only one of us
who is not pro-life
here.
^This is just one of the many gems, that can be found in this excellent collection. If you love poetry, track this collection down ASAP. If you are not sure if poetry is "your thing", give it a try anyway. The troubled times we are living in, call for a strong, fearless voice and [[Megan Falley]] does not play around. Highly recommended.
What pisses me off is that you are the one
they call murderer. Treat me like a thing
to protect, and you get to be the monster.
Like it was not me who shot
up the club and gave new meaning
to a last dance. Not me who sat back
in my hotel room and turned the music festival
into one long scream. Not me who interrupted
a classroom of children learning ABCs
and punctuation and taught them
how I. End.
A sentence.
They say you think
you can play god, but in this country, I am god.
They'll argue that I'm innocent.
Closets of suits will pledge allegiance, write clean,
crisp, amendments while you do nothing
but choose to save your life and you get riots
outside the clinic, a bomb in the belly
of a dumpster. Tell me, what have you been
aiming for? Joy? Freedom? A body
that is yours? Let's be clear:
I'm the only one of us
who is not pro-life
here.
^This is just one of the many gems, that can be found in this excellent collection. If you love poetry, track this collection down ASAP. If you are not sure if poetry is "your thing", give it a try anyway. The troubled times we are living in, call for a strong, fearless voice and [[Megan Falley]] does not play around. Highly recommended.
April 30, 2025
Giving this 5 stars even though some poems fell short for me, because the ones that did deliver, delivered. So many lines that gutted me. Beautiful poems about femininity and queerness especially. Also, the dedication to Andrea. <3
January 20, 2019
I’ve been obsessed with Megan Falley’s work for awhile now, and I was very excited to read this book from the get-go. Her poetry is very different from the poems of others (specifically her partner, Andrea (which isn’t to say I don’t love Andrea’s work because I absolutely do)), and the nuances present bring about refreshing and new rhythms and reads. “Drive Here and Devastate Me” was full of poems ranging across topics and across formats. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, which is a nice even 100 pages. My only complaint comes less from the book and more from my inability to connect with much of it. I can appreciate the craftsmanship and genius of it all; my own experiences just didn’t connect in a way that made it to my five star level.
Thank you, Megan Falley, for this beautiful work. I’ll be posting a longer review on a blog I’m a part of in a few days and posting the link here :)
Thank you, Megan Falley, for this beautiful work. I’ll be posting a longer review on a blog I’m a part of in a few days and posting the link here :)
December 22, 2018
I have to say I was disappointed by this collection. I've been following this poet since coming across her first collection, which I found inspired, if not quite polished. Her second collection was even better. It was more focused, and she seemed to really be settling into herself as a poet. This current collection feels very incomplete. The poems felt like second drafts, as though the editing and revision process were not completed before publication. Also I found her treatment of the subject matter in many of the poems to be quite heavy-handed. Over the course of the last two collections, she was beginning to master subtlety, but all of that has gone out the window in this collection. Overall, I found the collection to be only ok, not as good as either of her other books.
February 7, 2020
Falley is a powerhouse of a poet. She is funny and fearless and brash and tender. This book feels like a natural extension of her person. It is such a charming and gut-wrenching work. I look forward to revisiting it again and again in the future.
February 5, 2024
LOVED this! Not usually a big poetry girlie, but this had me in tears so many times. Beautiful poems about love and partnership
August 29, 2025
Some of the best poetry I've read all year. Read if you like Andrea Gibson.
June 30, 2021
aconteceu: finalmente dei 5 estrelas pra uma coleção de poemas
esse livro é top 5 dos livros que li do gênero e o audiobook é sensacional
recomendo pra quem tem interesse em ler poesia e/ou melhorar o inglês
esse livro é top 5 dos livros que li do gênero e o audiobook é sensacional
recomendo pra quem tem interesse em ler poesia e/ou melhorar o inglês
December 20, 2022
For my first poetry book I honestly loved it, highly recommend! My favourites were Going to the Basement, Your Bathwater > Wine, Window, and Holy Thank You for Not. A lot of the things she writes about are very relatable and she’s very talented!
“Come down here and sweep up the mess of me; carry me up the stairs. If you cut your hand on my glass say it was worth it.”
“Come down here and sweep up the mess of me; carry me up the stairs. If you cut your hand on my glass say it was worth it.”
December 8, 2025
4 stars
I learned of Megan Falley's work just a couple of weeks ago, watching the documentary “Come See Me In The Good Light” on AppleTV.
It's difficult to review this book – sandwiched between two books from Falley's spouse Andrea Gibson. I will not compare or contrast. That's not fair to Megan.
I enjoyed all three books. This was very good.
I learned of Megan Falley's work just a couple of weeks ago, watching the documentary “Come See Me In The Good Light” on AppleTV.
It's difficult to review this book – sandwiched between two books from Falley's spouse Andrea Gibson. I will not compare or contrast. That's not fair to Megan.
I enjoyed all three books. This was very good.
December 31, 2018
3.5 stars
review to come!!
review to come!!
October 31, 2024
so glad I picked this up randomly, without knowing anything about it. resonated, resonated, resonated.
Read
August 16, 2025"Don't go looking for meaning —
it was warm. You were there.
Of course."
it was warm. You were there.
Of course."
September 15, 2025
I had no idea just HOW great Megan Falley's poetry was. I will reread this immediately
May 8, 2019
Such a quiet power. The title alone - persistent goosebumps.
January 29, 2021
I listened to the audiobook and honestly it so amazing and I cannot even write a review bc I am stunned.
July 24, 2025
This was a really great book of poetry, raw and queer and real, and it spoke the same language as me, and it made me tap into feelings that made me appreciate it even more.
I have thought for most of my life that poetry is just a genre that I don't "get," emotionally at least. Sure, I read any number of poems and poetry, and I thought some of them were beautiful and meaningful, but they didn't move me like I've heard so many talk about poems moving them.
And in the last decade or so of my life, it's been a pretty consistent pattern.
I find a book of poetry that I like, that means something to me, that reminds me of what I enjoy out of poetry, and I heap praise upon it because I'm pleased to have established it as a genre I have accessed.
And then I read more poetry. And it doesn't move me the same way, and I begin the slow descent once again into wondering if poetry is even for me. And then along comes another book to remind me of how it can touch some hidden layer of emotion for me.
Between the word choices, the themes, the connection that describes something I've felt before, too. Some combination of these and other elements makes the perfect poetry book for me, and they've coalesced in Drive Here and Devastate Me, a book that drew me in with its name alone.
Andrea Gibson's poetry is some of the only other poetry that has affected me this way, and I had no idea that they and Megan were partners until I began this book, just days after Gibson's passing. It made my heart ache all the more, reading this.
I adored this book, and I'm glad to have picked it up when I did.
I have thought for most of my life that poetry is just a genre that I don't "get," emotionally at least. Sure, I read any number of poems and poetry, and I thought some of them were beautiful and meaningful, but they didn't move me like I've heard so many talk about poems moving them.
And in the last decade or so of my life, it's been a pretty consistent pattern.
I find a book of poetry that I like, that means something to me, that reminds me of what I enjoy out of poetry, and I heap praise upon it because I'm pleased to have established it as a genre I have accessed.
And then I read more poetry. And it doesn't move me the same way, and I begin the slow descent once again into wondering if poetry is even for me. And then along comes another book to remind me of how it can touch some hidden layer of emotion for me.
Between the word choices, the themes, the connection that describes something I've felt before, too. Some combination of these and other elements makes the perfect poetry book for me, and they've coalesced in Drive Here and Devastate Me, a book that drew me in with its name alone.
Andrea Gibson's poetry is some of the only other poetry that has affected me this way, and I had no idea that they and Megan were partners until I began this book, just days after Gibson's passing. It made my heart ache all the more, reading this.
I adored this book, and I'm glad to have picked it up when I did.
April 21, 2019
I discovered this amazing collection through a review and interview with Megan Falley at Autostraddle and oh girl am I glad I read it! This is Falley's fourth poetry collection and I will definitely be seeking out her previous works.
Divided into five separate parts which each feel complete, while weaving together to form a gorgeous whole, these poems explore queerness, love, grief, self image, body positivity, gun violence, sexism, being femme...but it all comes back to queerness.
I find it very difficult to review poetry, and I will also admit to being hard to please, but for sure I really enjoyed it. I found some sections resonating with me far more than others, and the fifth and final section comprises three stunning poems which I know I will come back to many times. Other sections I found weaker, and there are poems in there I probably won't read again in the near future, but I think this is a reflection of my life and my experiences and my mood when reading, and not Megan Falley's skills.
Overall though, this is a really solid, skilfully composed collection which I would recommend reading. This was my first queer poetry collection, which I am kind of embarrassed to admit as a 25 year old lesbian, but it can take time to learn to overcome your fears, embrace your identity and invite it into all aspects of your life. I'm glad I started with Drive Here and Devastate Me. It definitely did what it said on the cover! 🌈❤
Divided into five separate parts which each feel complete, while weaving together to form a gorgeous whole, these poems explore queerness, love, grief, self image, body positivity, gun violence, sexism, being femme...but it all comes back to queerness.
I find it very difficult to review poetry, and I will also admit to being hard to please, but for sure I really enjoyed it. I found some sections resonating with me far more than others, and the fifth and final section comprises three stunning poems which I know I will come back to many times. Other sections I found weaker, and there are poems in there I probably won't read again in the near future, but I think this is a reflection of my life and my experiences and my mood when reading, and not Megan Falley's skills.
Overall though, this is a really solid, skilfully composed collection which I would recommend reading. This was my first queer poetry collection, which I am kind of embarrassed to admit as a 25 year old lesbian, but it can take time to learn to overcome your fears, embrace your identity and invite it into all aspects of your life. I'm glad I started with Drive Here and Devastate Me. It definitely did what it said on the cover! 🌈❤
September 26, 2025
I gave Drive Here And Devastate Me by Megan Falley four and a half stars. Wow! Okay I’d like to say that I never read poetry, but I’ve been subscribed to what was Andrea Gibson’s newsletter, that Megan has been writing since their passing, and I knew I had to buy and read this. The poems are divided into five different sections, each related to a different theme ex. II. Bullet in Reverse and IV. What Makes the Bathwater Blush. Some of the poems are only a page long the shortest being Waiting To Kiss, and one of the longest is Coming Out (And Being Pushed Back In) is two and a half pages. I read a poem at a time because many I just had to stop and think about how it made me feel.
Megan Falley has a gift. And you will easily find several poems you’ll relate to, even if you haven’t been in that particular situation. My favorite was probably The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is Green which end with describing love as “the swatch of urine on the pants: born from blushing, a bliss, a surprise, sometimes uncomfortable, often embarrassing, but how, when it comes, you know you are going home.” And honestly, that does feel like love to me. Read this selection of poems. You won’t regret it.
July 28, 2022
“Drive Here and Devastate Me” by Megan Falley is an honest & therapeutic poetic journey with one woman through five sections of poems. The fourth section “What Makes the Bathwater Blush” is definitely my favorite & centers on romantic / love poems. “What If Dreams Could Get Leaked Like Celebrity Sex Tapes?” & “Fever Slow” are true highlights of the book, which gorgeous lines & imagery. Other poems I especially noted & loved the language of include “Eulogy For the Family Pig,” “Ode to Red Lipstick,” “Unconditional,” “If You Stayed,” “Kiss Number Thirty-Nine or So,” “Mirror, Mirror,” “Said the Gun to the Woman on Her Way to Planned Parenthood,” “Pulse,” & “Ode to Eleanor.” I definitely hope to read more by Megan Falley & will certainly read this collection again someday. 💜
February 8, 2024
I listen to a Podcast called “We Can do Hard Things,” and Megan Falley and her partner Andrea Gibson were featured on one of the episodes. I listened to their love story, and Andrea’s journey with terminal cancer. Towards the end, they both read each other a poem, and I had to pick myself up off the floor when they were finished! Seriously in tears…what, me?! Needless to say I knew I had to pick up one of their poetry books, and this one did not disappoint. It’s not big word, breathy poetry, it just puts simple words to emotions that are raw and deeply felt. I wanted to savor each poem, but I couldn’t stop myself from reading the next. So now I’ve read them all three times, and I know I’ll keep going back. It’s been a long time since I’ve read poetry, just wow!
March 16, 2020
"The thing that has held me back the most
from being amazing is the belief that I am not"
*Swoon*
Well, I am now officially obsessed with Megan Falley- not sure how she managed to fly under my radar, but she's tracked now.
I loved this book so much that I will be buying a physical copy. Having the e-book made my fingers itch- there were so many great lines and full poems that practically screamed at me- so many notes and highlights and I need those dog-eared pages to keep going back to.
Some of my favorites:::
Movement
When It Ended
Eulogy for the Family Pig
On Being One of the Skinny Girls at Fat Camp
Your Bathwater > Wine
from being amazing is the belief that I am not"
*Swoon*
Well, I am now officially obsessed with Megan Falley- not sure how she managed to fly under my radar, but she's tracked now.
I loved this book so much that I will be buying a physical copy. Having the e-book made my fingers itch- there were so many great lines and full poems that practically screamed at me- so many notes and highlights and I need those dog-eared pages to keep going back to.
Some of my favorites:::
Movement
When It Ended
Eulogy for the Family Pig
On Being One of the Skinny Girls at Fat Camp
Your Bathwater > Wine
May 5, 2020
I knew I would love this, and love it I did. All poems to come back to, reread again and again.
"A town where I had no model,
no option, just a force-fed Cupid.
Where, for years, I swore the landfill
was a mountain and that she was a girl
I just really admired..."
"My silence was centuries old. My body a safe house for all the women in my bloodline who died quiet and afraid. I have hidden inside my own skeleton because deep down in the grave of history what woman can believe she is safe?"
"Every time you open the gate
of your teeth to be the only living translator
of the language from the lost village
in your brain, success."
"A town where I had no model,
no option, just a force-fed Cupid.
Where, for years, I swore the landfill
was a mountain and that she was a girl
I just really admired..."
"My silence was centuries old. My body a safe house for all the women in my bloodline who died quiet and afraid. I have hidden inside my own skeleton because deep down in the grave of history what woman can believe she is safe?"
"Every time you open the gate
of your teeth to be the only living translator
of the language from the lost village
in your brain, success."
December 29, 2023
Absolutely loved it. It’s one of those reads where you don’t want to miss a single word and you just feel like you’re sinking into a different world. I was on the train and was so into it I didn’t realize the chaos happening around me and that the train had been stopped for 20 minutes. I love when that happens. After I was done reading, I wrote for the first time in forever.
My initial favorites are When It Ended, Coming Out (And Being Pushed Back In), Mirror Mirror, The Theory of Evolution, Unconditional (especially the last bit), My One Millionth Love Poem for You, Self-Portrait As Someone To Love.
My initial favorites are When It Ended, Coming Out (And Being Pushed Back In), Mirror Mirror, The Theory of Evolution, Unconditional (especially the last bit), My One Millionth Love Poem for You, Self-Portrait As Someone To Love.
April 10, 2025
Dear Megan, I hope you don't make it a habit of reading reviews on Goodreads. Like you say in "A Student Asks Me How to Make it as a Writer and I Remind Myself," it is you who decides if it's good.
But goddamn it, Megan. If you happen to read this review? This collection is GOOD. It drove into my heart and devastated me in all the exactly correct ways.
I will read this again and again and again and again until I go blind and then I will listen, listen, listen.
Thanks for healing a small part of me with your work.
But goddamn it, Megan. If you happen to read this review? This collection is GOOD. It drove into my heart and devastated me in all the exactly correct ways.
I will read this again and again and again and again until I go blind and then I will listen, listen, listen.
Thanks for healing a small part of me with your work.
December 24, 2021
I had the pleasure of seeing Megan Falley perform with Andrea Gibson a few years ago and instantly fell in love with her poetry and power. Her live performance resonated so deeply and she named experiences that I had struggled to put into words. This collection of poems is so visceral and vulnerable. Falley evokes powerful imagery to capture complex themes and feelings about queerness, femininity and connection that make it feel like she's speaking directly to you.
May 1, 2022
Holy. Moly. This is literally the best book of poetry I’ve ever read.
I cried actual tears.
I laughed multiple times, mostly from happiness.
I actually felt every poem.
I knew the words as I read them.
Felt the words.
Because so many of the words reminded me of me.
And it was all so full of love.
Such a freaking beautiful book and I can’t wait to start over again, right back at the beginning.
I cried actual tears.
I laughed multiple times, mostly from happiness.
I actually felt every poem.
I knew the words as I read them.
Felt the words.
Because so many of the words reminded me of me.
And it was all so full of love.
Such a freaking beautiful book and I can’t wait to start over again, right back at the beginning.
February 20, 2019
Really interesting, mostly because I wasn't sure what to expect: I'm a massive fan of Andrea Gibson, so naturally gravitated to this one. It's very different to Gibson's style, but wonderful all the same! And, like Gibson, Falley provides a great, poetic look at some really big and important issues.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews