Congratulations to Joanne Nelson and Vine Leaves Press on the release of My Neglected Gods, a moving collection of essays from the author of the memoir This is How We Leave.
★★★★★ “A record of the compassion for self—and ultimately for family—that comes with clear seeing.” ~Joanna Penn Cooper, author of The Itinerant Girl's Guide to Self-Hypnosis
My Neglected Gods by Joanne Nelson
NEW RELEASE: July 25, 2023Genre: Creative Nonfiction
Paperback: $14.99
Ebook: $4.99
We all have our rituals and talismans to protect us from the unknown, but will we admit what they are?
Tarot cards, speeding cars, several saints, and old dogs make appearances in Joanne Nelson’s new collection of prose and poetry. She unravels the secular deities giving shape to her days, not only on planes, but in summer crowds, at conferences, and in long post office queues. Whether it’s a bandaid in a pocket, the backup pen in a purse, or a hidden $20 in a wallet for just-in-case, Nelson explores what we carry for comfort. She delves into the Mercury retrograde conundrum and examines the significance of kitchens as holy places. Beer runs through it. There will be coffee.
Join Nelson, author of the memoir This Is How We Leave, in this humorous and heartfelt journey through life’s often-ignored quiet moments. Ignored until, plate of cookies in hand, they come begging for a chat. All the while, the kids move out, the house gets put up for sale, and loved ones age.
Praise for My Neglected Gods
★★★★★ “There’s sadness here, and grief and regret. But there’s also appreciation and gratitude... characterized by an assurance Nelson experienced during a mystical connection with her deceased grandmother: everything is going to be all right.” ~Lynn Domina, author of Framed in Silence and Corporal Works
★★★★★ “Never leaves the reader behind, no matter how deep into the sublime Nelson dives, and with each page that turns we find ourselves willing to go deeper and deeper into that amazing pool of reflection with her.” ~Paul Corman-Roberts, author of Bone Moon Palace, 2021 CLMP Firecracker Nominee
★★★★★ “A lyrical dance through sepia-colored memories that make us at once melancholy for what we’ve left behind, and joyful at how far we’ve come.” ~Martha Engber, author of Bliss Road
★★★★★ “The vignettes may be miniature in scale, and composed with elegant precision, but they contain entire worlds.” ~Benjamin Anastas, author of the memoir Too Good To Be True
★★★★★ “Joanne Nelson jolts her reader with an electricity that comes from a masterly conjuring of the dead and the lost.” ~Alden Jones, author of The Wanting Was a Wilderness
About the Author
Joanne Nelson is the author of the memoir This Is How We Leave. Her writing appears in numerous journals and anthologies. She won the Hal Prize in nonfiction, as well as other literary awards, and has contributed to "Lake Effect" on Milwaukee’s National Public Radio station. Nelson lives in Hartland, Wisconsin, where she teaches at the university level and leads community programs. She gives presentations on mindfulness and writing, creativity, and the second half of life. Nelson holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars, an MSSW from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is a certified meditation instructor. Learn more at the Wake Up the Writer Within website.About the Publisher
Vine Leaves Press likes to blur the line between commercial and experimental works. They publish book-length vignette collections, writing reference books, short story collections, memoir/autobiography, and character-driven novels with a literary bent. Subscribe to the Vine Leaves Press newsletter to receive FREE advanced review copies of upcoming new releases, news about their authors and subscribers, and/or to read the monthly opinion column, SPILL IT! or a daily dose of 50-word stories. Learn more at vineleavespress.com.