A difficult and emotive read, this new suite of poems by Bob Mackenzie explores themes of loss, betrayal, and grief; they demonstrate the power of photography and memory to both reveal, and hide, devastating truths. Interlinked by image and story, they sketch out how we hope and become hopeless, and the many ways we shatter and stiffen in the fires of living. They cannot be called uplifting, but instead are a grim nod to suffering, agency, and survival. Deanna MacDonald, Next Chapter Counselling & Psychotherapy |