'Superb, moving, beautiful' Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep
He will be allowed to visit his mother soon. His mother who is terminally ill, his mother who he has been barred from seeing as he recovers from his own bout of pneumonia.
Until then, with the help of his physiotherapist Freya, he must navigate his increasingly empty and isolated existence: his father, who finds solace in the bottom of a glass; his Nana Q, whose betting-slip confetti litters her handbag; his friends, who simply wouldn’t understand.
Time passes with the promise of soon, but one hundred and fifty-two days later the boy will come face to face with his grief, and move beyond to a world full of possibility, hope and love.
'Oh God, a novel made up of poems about a teenage boy whose mother is dying and it captures so much sorrow and confusion. It's BRILLIANT' Marian Keyes
'This book is superb, moving and beautiful' Nick Offerman
'A soul-stirring exploration of loss, grief, and hope; its raw melody will stay with me for a long time' Susie Dent
'A beautiful, perfect book' Kate Mosse
Physio Day 108
The clapping under my arms,
my back,
my chest,
is relentless.
“The infection was really severe,” she says
“You've been coming here for quite a while.”
The clapping is percussive, and I close my eyes
The rhythm is somehow soothing, then I ready myself
my position is crucial to make the procedure effective,
to loosen the secretions caused by the infection.
“That's it” she says
“You're doing a good job”
Clap... Cough...
and the cup below becomes stained with green spit
Each cough removes just a little bit more.
It's been weeks since I started,
I hope it's nearly all gone.
Before
I try to remember
what it felt like before
I try to remember
before it all happened
before she was ill
before I was ill
I try to remember...
...before
'Superb, moving, beautiful' Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep
He will be allowed to visit his mother soon. His mother who is terminally ill, his mother who he has been barred from seeing as he recovers from his own bout of pneumonia.
Until then, with the help of his physiotherapist Freya, he must navigate his increasingly empty and isolated existence: his father, who finds solace in the bottom of a glass; his Nana Q, whose betting-slip confetti litters her handbag; his friends, who simply wouldn’t understand.
Time passes with the promise of soon, but one hundred and fifty-two days later the boy will come face to face with his grief, and move beyond to a world full of possibility, hope and love.
'Oh God, a novel made up of poems about a teenage boy whose mother is dying and it captures so much sorrow and confusion. It's BRILLIANT' Marian Keyes
'This book is superb, moving and beautiful' Nick Offerman
'A soul-stirring exploration of loss, grief, and hope; its raw melody will stay with me for a long time' Susie Dent
'A beautiful, perfect book' Kate Mosse
Physio Day 108
The clapping under my arms,
my back,
my chest,
is relentless.
“The infection was really severe,” she says
“You've been coming here for quite a while.”
The clapping is percussive, and I close my eyes
The rhythm is somehow soothing, then I ready myself
my position is crucial to make the procedure effective,
to loosen the secretions caused by the infection.
“That's it” she says
“You're doing a good job”
Clap... Cough...
and the cup below becomes stained with green spit
Each cough removes just a little bit more.
It's been weeks since I started,
I hope it's nearly all gone.
Before
I try to remember
what it felt like before
I try to remember
before it all happened
before she was ill
before I was ill
I try to remember...
...before
Giles Paley-Phillips has written a beautiful honest heartstopping bookpoem about grief. His enormous gorgeous heart is laid bare. Thoroughly recommend
