These accessible, straight-forward poems are mostly autobiographical, telling of the author’s experience confirming in a hospital that he was born into addiction and expressing his experiences of being in the foster care system from age 12 to 18, and aging out of that system in 2016 into a world of drug dealing not that different from his childhood. No mention is made of any localities beyond, “Appalachia.” “From raw pain to poignant reflection, poet Jesse-Ray Lewis plumbs the depths of despair with his words . . . digging deep to find the gentle heart that lies beneath.” – Saundra Kelley.
Location unstated: WriteLife Publishing/Boutique of Quality Books, 2018. 83 pages with drawings and a picture of the author. Trade paperback, $10.95.