The poems in Kind of Animal document the immediate aftermath of a concussion and the symptom-woven seasons that follow. In concrete, visceral, and accessible language, Jamieson illuminates the lived reality of an invisible illness that is often reduced to medical jargon or symptom labels and difficult for outsiders to comprehend. As time collapses and expands around her and the life she once lived drifts further and further away, Jamieson turns to dreamscapes and ‘the internet of [her] being’ for guidance. What began as a deep desire for a return to normalcy morphs, over the course of this journey, into a fierce determination to love and value herself and her life exactly as they are. These poems are a portal to a new perspective, a flare sent up to mark the spot where despair turns into hope.
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