Poems for a Broken Marriage Man by Leslie Archibald

“Accessible and raw, resonant and profound in its honesty, this impactful collection is the kind of exorcism so many need in a broken world.”

–Angélique Jamail, author of THE SHARP EDGES OF WATER and A NARROWING PATH

“Leslie Archibald‘s Poems for a Broken Marriage Man takes readers through a journey of Archibald’s own traumatic marriage, from exhilarating early moments to realizing and cataloguing the fragility of her husband’s temper and their relationship. She writes with honesty about her husband’s brutal attacks and the enduring damage and fear with which she grapples because of him and his addictions, as well as the sensations of her persistence and, finally, escape. Throughout, readers will empathize with her as she seeks to describe her experiences—both harrowing and recuperative— through evocative language and imagery.”

–Kendra Preston Leonard, author of PROTECTRESS and GRAB

“Poems for a Broken Marriage Man is exactly what the author’s note suggests: an exorcism for readers who are still living with the ghost of past trauma. The poems’ speaker navigates the past like a ghost herself, haunted by the shadow man, hoping to break his grip. Archibald’s voice is at once ungarnished and unfettered—a voice in the darkness leading to redemption. This one’s for anyone who has ever struggled to let go of the past—and won.”  –

–Holly Lyn Walrath, author of GLIMMERGLASS GIRL, THE SMALLEST OF BONES, and NUMINOUS STONES