ENCAPSULATED by Kristina L. Tregnan

What a beautiful expression of a difficult journey. Kristina’s spirit shines through her words with warmth and strength. This is a gift to all those affected by breast cancer.

–Dr. Debra S. Copit MD

“Listen.//Closely.//Carefully.//Turn the Page,” the author of Encapsulated tells herself, and we, her readers would be wise to do the same, because on every page there is so much that matters: wild honeysuckle, Eastern Meadowlark, silkworm, cleansing rain, and all in the face of a shattering diagnosis of cancer. It is a loud topic but treated in this eloquent book with a bravely quiet and determined voice. Kristina Tregnan does not just give us a courageous example of how to face frightening uncertainty; her poems do what lovingly crafted poems do: they teach us to listen. And one way they achieve this is with delightfully surprising metaphors: the injected blue dye is a precinct detective, nausea impatiently waits to take out the trash, the broken cells hitch a ride on a distorted Ferris wheel. Yes, I did use the word delight; for poems at their best bring light into the darkest places. “The threat was imminent/the repertoire limited/ and all she had were her wings.” A repertoire hardly limited with such resplendent wings.

–Christopher Bursk PhD            

“As cancer survivors, we belong to an elite, albeit undesired club. There are usually no words to convey the trial of this disease but Kristina has come as close as I have ever seen. Her heartfelt poems bring the experience to life, with all the trials, tribulations, heartbreak and aching triumph that make cancer…cancer. With no harshness or bitternerss, her love of life shines. If you’re dealing with disease, her book will lift you up; if you’re not, it will help you understand. It’s a must-read for anyone with a heart and soul.”

–Christina Pirello, Bestselling Author, Emmy-Award winning host of “Christina Cooks” on national public television.

Experience the gut wrenching emotions of receiving a diagnosis of breast cancer and journeying with a poet as she documents those emotions through her gifted poems.  This is what awaits the reader in Kristina Tregnan’s chapbook, Encapsulated.  From reflections on her mother’s unknowingly “planting” the “seed” (…her genetic garden/passing down the seeds/ of sensitivity/sympathy,/and substance.) to her own diagnostic reality of cancer (All the rivers stopped flowing,/ the trees stopped growing,/ all the space between her and the earth disappeared.) the reader travels the road of diagnosis to healing. Tregnan’s poems, sensitive, mournful, and hope-filled chronicle the travail that women (and men) face with this disease. She pulls no punches.  It can be difficult reading, but it delineates the power of the human spirit to both experience and record the ordeal.  Separately, the poems have their own impact, but as an orchestrated whole the full story of the struggle plays out as one relives the emotions found in the complete book.  Tregnan’s poetry is the saga of suffering and recovery messaged by the emotional power of a young woman.

–Frank Champine, author of A Path To Grace: The Trinity in Words and Images.