Hot Mess by J. Andersen

“After losing two children, the speaker of these poems writes of her deep suffering with openness; and when read one after another, along the trajectory of these poems, hope peeks through—in the form of a lost part of the speaker, a fire-breathing woman who may bring understanding, and in the form of these lines: ‘I think there’s / still a chance / for me / to believe / in something.’”

–Ashley Inguanta, author of The Island, The Mountain, & The Nightblooming Field

It is rare to find a collection of poems that is both accessibly frank and heartbreakingly true. With her colloquial turns of phrase enmeshed with breathtaking lyricism, J. Andersen’s Hot Mess captures the brutal grief of generational trauma and the struggle for stability—in relationships and with oneself—amid concurrent child losses. Andersen doesn’t pull punches or pretend that things will magically become better; instead, her poems steep into pivotal moments of conflict and discovery. In each snapshot poem, Andersen expertly distills moments of pain, absence, and even tentative hope and healing with recurring metaphors grounded in the Earth and reaching for the cosmos. These immersive confessionals paint the portrait of an unsteady life rife with pain and potential. Aptly-named, Andersen’s cathartic collection serves as an anthem for anyone striving to hold it together.

–Leslie Salas, editor of Other Orlandos and co-editor of Condoms & Hot Tubs Don’t Mix