{"product_id":"the-pain-cycle-alexandria-wyckoff-9781639804993","title":"The Pain Cycle","description":"In \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Pain Cycle, \u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e a torn ACL, surgery involving a cadaver specimen transplant, and the long aftermath of recovery become a taut locus of inquiry about identity, endurance, and transformation. \"Sometimes you have to get a little dead inside,\" Wyckoff writes, in service of the way toward wholeness. These visceral poems reimagine woundedness and healing from eyes of an alien, Frankenstein's monster, and a time traveler, all while probing the difficult curriculum of pain, and how \"new scars spark\" revival.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-Laura Reece Hogan, author of \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eButterfly Nebula\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlexandria Wyckoff's \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Pain Cycle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e charts the path from injury to recovery following a torn ACL. This path is not linear; instead, it circles and swerves, becomes otherworldly, as Wyckoff explores through the persona of an alien woven through the book. Wyckoff asks what it means to navigate an \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eother\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e body, one dependent on two new \"metal limbs\" that \"\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eclick, click, click\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\" as they carry her. While this collection will especially resonate with those who have experienced injury and its aftermath, Wyckoff's innovative use of form and her fresh descriptions-the injury \"like a cello \/ string stretched \/ to its limits,\" or the way the \"barren trees creak in the wind\" as the speaker finally finds her footing-will speak to any reader.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e -Laura Donnelly, author of \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eMidwest Gothic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlexandria Wyckoff's poems lead us from a gymnasium's shiny, waxed floor into the hands of a doctor injecting nerve blockers-from a high school girl's revealing Google search history into the cold shock of glacial runoff in a spruce-shaded valley. Better still, Wyckoff guides us from the claustrophobic desperation of the wounded into the laughter, spin and chase of a life on the mend, an alien becoming human again. A promising start from a writer to watch.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, author of \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eSalve\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alexandria Wyckoff\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1639804994\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781639804993\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Kelsay Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/13\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 62\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.23lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.15d\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Alexandria Wyckoff","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":46070467395839,"sku":"9781639804993","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_da4951a3-7a35-4a22-83d1-6df43f2a90d3.jpg?v=1724243352","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-pain-cycle-alexandria-wyckoff-9781639804993","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}