Clair Itey

Substituting Dangers: a Journey with Ptsd Clair Itey

This book of poetry is a unique collection - spanning over twenty years of living with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Written at different times, the poems nonetheless share many themes in common including the dialectic between speaking and remaining silent; the need to have control over one's body and self-image; the difficulty of maintaining relationships (e.g., being a daughter, mother, wife, sister, friend) while dealing with PTSD, and the process of "healing" and reaching out to others with care and compassion. It is not, however, only meaningful to those with PTSD; the poems in this volume also reflect the experience of growing up as a woman in a sexist society and the need to recreate and recapture our history, literature, and love for each other and for ourselves.