My Neglected Gods
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.
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"With aplomb and arresting originality of language, Joanne Nelson bears witness to the complex relationship between troubled family legacies and self-determination. My Neglected Gods is 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
"Ancestors and heirs, neighbors and siblings-they punctuate Joanne Nelson's moving collection of essays, My Neglected Gods. I remember the characters in this book because each one is revealed through precise heart-wrenching detail: the "carefully tucked paisley sheets" of a mother's bed, "shadow selves" left in the "damp imprint" of towels, the neighbor who tells everyone about the metal plate in his head, the other neighbor who leans on Nelson's mailbox, catching his breath, not long before he dies, a baby who points at bunnies and goldfish crackers. There's sadness here, and grief and regret. But there's also appreciation and gratitude and attentiveness. More than anything, this collection of meditative essays is 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
"Joanne Nelson shows us in her collection My Neglected Gods the value of writing from "the inside out," that is, she harnesses the inner voice of perception first and then works toward the exterior environment to reveal a larger frame of reference, before directing those visions back into the author's interior. She tells us that she "though this was about leaving my home of thirty years for the last time" but by taking the reader into the confidence behind...and through...her eyes, we learn that almost everything serves as a revelation to where we are going, or even a "click of green light," "I've never witnessed" but always remaining hopeful. This delightful collection of reminiscence and straightforward narrative 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
"This book of prose and poetry is 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
"There is so much life in My Neglected Gods the book feels like one of those magic capsules that expand into a dinosaur when you drop them in a glass of water. The vignettes may be miniature in scale, and composed with elegant precision, but they contain entire worlds. Joanne Nelson is a writer of real heart and exquisite control." Benjamin Anastas, author of the memoir Too Good To Be True
"The micro-memoirs that make up My Neglected Gods are little squalls that invite the reader to consider what constitutes a family and a life. Joanne Nelson jolts her reader with an electricity that comes from a masterly conjuring of the dead and the lost. Nelson is a magnificent writer." Alden Jones, author of The Wanting Was a Wilderness
