If I were to choose a last book to finish off my life with the way one might choose a last meal, I’d choose Anne-Marie Turza’s The Quiet. Even after years of rereading, I’m still moved to think and look and breathe differently after spending time with it, asked to attune to smaller, overlooked orders of life.
"Over weeks, months, or years, exposure to increased secretion of stress hormones can result in allostatic load and its pathophysiologic consequences," explains Bruce S. McEwen*.
The offerings in this collection are many. I recently read Kathy Jetn̄il-Kijiner’s, Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter, which led me into a deep exploration not only of her immersive, finely crafted poetry but also of Pacific Island history, poetry, and art.