not my daughter

"""With crisp lyricism and narration, not my daughter slices dogma and illuminates the power of resiliency. This book is a must-have for living in this world and claiming your sexuality, your name, your life no matter what. Jessie's poems redefine daughterhood and embrace what we humans long for, always, love."" -Thea Matthews, author of Unearth the Flowers ""This debut collection presents a brilliant examination of three languages: heritage, erasure, and wonder. Here, you'll see a poet in the crossfire of the human experience. This work cuts with precision crafting a map that resonates with raw authenticity. Jessie weaves a narrative that is both haunting and deeply moving. This book is a must-read."" -Antony Fangary, author of Haram ""The queer-adopted-kid-poet-who-teaches-creative-writing in me swoons over the brilliant craft and the precise play with language. I'll return to this collection again and again. I want to use every poem as an example of ""this is how you truth."" These poems give us somewhere to belong and make us feel less alone."" -Su Flatt ""Jessie's lines of poetry are glass castles; ready to shatter over you again and again. She elicits a yearning, that is delicate and eternal, from tender moments that can make-or break-a life: a ripped saccharine packet lying prostrate on a table, a fork scraping the rim of a plate, the pluck of fishnet threads marking a thigh."" -Andrea Passwater ""When we read these luminous poems in not my daughter filled with beauty and grief and desire, we learn ways to examine ourselves, our relationships, and others through new perspectives. We are able to glean many truths, such as how ""Death and life both crave / clarity, light"" or how 'We are always clamoring, aggregating, / attaching, hoping we aren't really alone / striving toward impossible satiation."" -Kevin Dublin, author of How to Fall in Love in San Diego"