"What Is in the Blood is a poetry memoir about growing up in rural Pennsylvania in the 1960s and '70s with a bipolar mother. The book describes a girl's early childhood and adolescence from having a vibrant mother - to living with a ghost mother. What Is in the Blood is about being female in America, the expectations of caregiving, and the toll gender takes on women. The book touches on a daughter's sexual beginnings, as well as sexual assault and its lingering cost. What Is in the Blood makes clear the journey and impact of caring for a mentally ill parent while becoming a woman and mother. The gardens, fields, rivers and mountains of the author's childhood provide both context and purpose to the family's struggle. What Is in the Blood is finally a book about how the natural world holds and cares for those who rely on it for solace."--Publisher's website.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.