what's in your hand

Poetry was the glue that held Lilah's complicated relationship with her Dad together. Before his decision cost them everything, forcing her to move away and live with her grandmother who resents her. Working at the local thrift store alongside a boy who seems to get it becomes a pleasant distraction. Until they are cleaning out an old estate together and happen upon a collection of poetry books that catch her friend's interest. Caught between an identity she wants to forget and her new life, Lilah has to make a choice: bury the past or confront her pain for once and for all. Inspired by community recovery efforts following the mass violence tragedy in Maine that took place on 10/25/23, this coming of age novel in verse follows the perspective of a teen's experience with complex trauma. Playing on themes of family systems, grief, and resilience, the story set in central Maine is told through a weave of narrative, poetry, art, emails, letters, and text messages.