Finishing Line Press is proud to announce the forthcoming publication of Sleepwalker, a chapbook of poems by Rochester writer, Linda K. Sienkiewicz. The book will be released on May 19, however advanced copies are available now. Sienkiewicz will be personally donating a percentage of the advanced orders to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz’s poems speak to hard-earned compassion and painful healing after her eldest son’s suicide. Trying to make sense of tragedy, she unearths the heartbreak of motherhood and deep loss, revealing tender, resilient love in poems that embrace who her son was and what he will never be. Readers who have suffered such a loss will know they are not alone.
“People ask me if writing about my son, his death, and the grieving process was cathartic or healing, said Linda K. Sienkiewicz, Author of Sleepwalker. “At first, no. The pain overwhelmed me. I avoided exploring it. Yet, I guess you could say the muse had a different plan.”
A few of the poems were published in earlier chapbooks or anthologies, but they fit the narrative of this collection, so they were included in this new book. The collection explores loss and grief, and how daily life changes after tragedy. The poems embrace who Linda’s son was and what he will never be. She hopes that readers who have suffered such a loss will know they are not alone.
“Sleepwalker is a moving poetic tribute to Linda Sienkiewicz’s late son, Derek,” said Kelly Fordon, Michigan Author and Workshop Leader. “Resolute, lyrical, and unflinching, these poems are informed by profound loss even as they pulse with a mother’s capacious love. A brilliant and devastating account of parenthood as the junction where both our greatest gifts and our greatest fears sometimes converge.”
Linda K Sienkiewicz‘s short stories, poetry, and art have been published in numerous literary journals and anthologies in print and online. She is the recipient of five Finalist Awards for her debut novel, In the Context of Love, a Pushcart Prize Nomination, and a poetry chapbook award from Heartlands. She has authored three other poetry chapbooks, and wrote and illustrated a children’s book, Gordy and the Ghost Crab. Her MFA is from the University of Southern Maine.
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