Grey Brown's collection is searingly beautiful. In intimate conversation with the reader, conversation that never becomes maudlin or overwrought, the poet takes us with her through the grief and fierce love, the wrenching knowledge and stone acceptance—and her joyous moments—as the mother of an autistic daughter. The poems are facets of a finely crafted prism reflecting the whole loving and terrifying illumination that follows the diagnosis and the years of struggle, failure, guilt, and yes, success and reward. Here is the steady gaze of a poet in complete command of her material, however close to the bone. The collection is that rare jewel indeed, a deeply personal story of enormous sadness that becomes art in the hands of a wonderful writer, every line of it trailing light.
–Betty Adcock
Winner of the North Carolina Governor’s Prize for Literature
'Why do we say given when so much is taken away,' Grey Brown writes of the moment she is given the diagnosis of autism for her daughter. In these carefully and lovingly observed lyrics, Brown confronts this news that no parent wants. And though these well-wrought poems don’t shy away from what is taken away, their honesty and powerful humanity are true gifts. They give and give.
––Michael Chitwood
Winner of the 2008 Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry
When They Tell Me is Grey Brown’s personal story of her daughter with autism, but it is my story too and the story of any parent who has a child with a disability. These thoughtful and powerful words confirmed my own experiences and comforted me. For those who have not shared this particular journey, it will offer an incredible insight into a parent’s overpowering love for their child and the challenging journey to acceptance.
–Ann Palmer
Author of Parenting Across the Autism Spectrum
When They Tell Me
Finishing Line Press, 2009
"Here is the steady gaze of a poet in complete command of her material, however close to the bone. The collection is that rare jewel indeed, a deeply personal story of enormous sadness that becomes art in the hands of a wonderful writer, every line of it trailing light."
Betty Adcock
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Cover art by Elizabeth Marin
Cover design and photo by Laura Williams