The poems in
Help in the Dark Season
expose lessons of adult and childhood trauma, relationship joys and failures, and the all-around hard work of true togetherness.
explores the pathway of human love as it begins in the dark, moves into parental hands, transfers into to experiments of the heart, grows, breaks, and ultimately transforms us more than any other experience we withstand. Each poem walks us into Jacqueline Suskin's world, where dreams and sacred visions are just as important as reality, where planet earth is an active character and spouse, and every attempt at love adds up as wisdom worth remembering. There are so many ways for us to access love; these poems map this personal process, uncovering the helpful tools and healing realizations that Suskin has gathered while conjuring up and relentlessly believing in love. Even when it hurts us the most and causes the worst confusion, even when it's laughable and foolish, these poems aim to provide proof that human connection is crucial and always worth the risk.