Survivor`s Notebook – Poems

Dan O'Brien's Survivors Notebook is a collection of prose poems that chronicles the family life of two cancer survivors, using photos and the tools of memoir to evoke how disaster can constellate our past, present, and future. The protagonist reconsiders the people and places he knew before his illness, including his estranged family and others with cancer, and resumes his career as a writer and teacher, revisiting Ireland and making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 116 pages
Publication date: 15 September 2023
Publisher: Acre Books

Dan O'Brien's poignant companion to Our Cancers, titled Survivors Notebook, delves into the recovery of a cancer survivor, whose wife has recently overcome her own cancer, as he navigates his daily life while raising a young daughter. This prose-poem sequence serves as a raw and authentic survivor's diary, employing photographs and memoir techniques to evoke the profound impact of disaster on our past, present, and future.

In his diverse body of work, including poetry, plays, and nonfiction, Dan O'Brien has delved into the profound consequences of trauma on identity, exploring how it shatters and reconfigures our sense of self. Through his highly personal and dramatic poems reminiscent of dramatic monologues, as well as shorter lyric fragments, the protagonist reflects on the people and places he once knew before his illness, including his estranged family and individuals affected by cancer. While reminiscing, he continues to move forward, resuming his career as a writer and teacher, revisiting Ireland, and embarking on a spiritual pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

These poems exude a confiding and occasionally humorous tone as the protagonist awakens to the joys, absurdities, and wonders of existence. Alongside his wife, he navigates the aftermath of their trauma, fostering a deeper love and resilience. Survivors Notebook, through its combination of text and image, showcases how we continue to thrive, embracing resilience, gratitude, and joy, even in the face of "emergency elsewhere."

Weight: 216g
Dimension: 153 x 229 x 11 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781946724632