The Amnesiac's Birthday

there is no anesthetic but amnesia; even amputation / leaves the severed limb as if it were a coal on fire, / burning...

Some things in life are worth forgetting, some are worth celebrating. What kind of birthday would an amnesiac have? In her debut collection of poems, Terri Adamczyk explores such uncomfortable topics as family dysfunction and memory loss, tracing her own struggles with mental illness. Her flowing lines present rich description and violent imagery that work together to achieve a haunting beauty.

This collection includes such memorable poems as "E. C. T., or Saving the Soul in Hell" ("the final exhibition of my cure, the quick / electrocution of my brain"); "Forgive Me" ("I hear / hallucinations like a drowning ghost still trapped inside its shipwreck"); "Decomposition" ("my being breaking up, / the limbs all disarranged, the mind / a loaf of bread already cut and waiting / to be served"). The book concludes with "Embracing the Orange Hour," a section recounting the poet's time in Prague, considering themes of forgetting on a social-political scale - an entire culture trying to regain their own memories after the collective shock of a Revolution.

Throughout The Amnesiac's Birthday, beauty appears side-by-side with blood, despair, and violence. In this remarkable debut collection, poems of darkness that journey "through all the tangled tendrils of the mind," ultimately lead into the light.

Includes a Foreword by Marge Simon

"Adamczyk's powerful collection shows how life's tragedy can be transformed into riveting verse, taking us on a journey through recognizable emotional landscape. There is more than survival possible-in each unforgettable piece, there's strength, courage and freedom."-Linda D. Addison, award-winning author and HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient

"A walk through the visceral and sometimes surreal aspects of pain, Adamczyk's collection is a marvelous account of body horror, mental health, and the way we navigate the line between life and death."-Stephanie M. Wytovich, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Apocalyptic Mannequin.