My Neglected Gods
Joanne Nelson
Creative Nonfiction
Vine Leaves Press, 130 pp
July 25, 2023
July 25, 2023
About the Book
We all have our rituals and talismans to protect us from the
unknown, but will we admit what they are? Tarot cards, speeding cars, several
saints, and old dogs make appearances in Joanne Nelson’s new collection of
prose and poetry. She unravels the secular deities giving shape to her days,
not only on planes, but in summer crowds, at conferences, and in long post
office queues. Whether it’s a bandaid in a pocket, the backup pen in a purse,
or a hidden $20 in a wallet for just-in-case, Nelson explores what we carry for
comfort. She delves into the Mercury retrograde conundrum and examines the
significance of kitchens as holy places. Beer runs through it. There will be
coffee. Join Nelson, author of the memoir, This Is How We Leave, in this
humorous and heartfelt journey through life’s often-ignored quiet moments.
Ignored until, plate of cookies in hand, they come begging for a chat. All the
while, the kids move out, the house gets put up for sale, and loved ones age.
My Review
Turning the last page on Nelson’s new work of art makes me
feel like I have to read it again, so I start backward, meandering through the
wake of time, bobbing in the waves of noticing the look in the dog’s eyes, the
person I would have been if I could have stayed the whole week at the retreat
house, and how my grandmother’s neck got transplanted on to mine. At times I wondered if I
was reading my own mind, recalling the bop upside the head in miscreant childhood,
sneaking off to smoke, closing the door after thirty years—exactly thirty years—raising
my kids in the same house and wondering if the next occupant could possibly
appreciate it as much as I. “Perception is everything.”
Peppered with gusto and sagacity like “Don’t get too excited,
you’ll only be disappointed,” and “You’ll never know when you need a train
ticket,” from Grandma’s change collection, each memory is undergirded by a
strong sense of family. There’s jealousy over the humorous but poignant extra
sibling—a cool bottle of beer that went everywhere with the folks, the perfect
alignment of suddenly realizing all you’ll miss when you move but also the
relief of knowing you won’t miss it that much. Neglected gods is a euphemism,
Nelson writes, a perception wrapped in a glass of wine or humming.
Joanne Nelson is the author of the memoir, This Is How We Leave. Her writing appears in numerous journals and anthologies. She won the Hal Prize in nonfiction, as well as other literary awards, and has contributed to Lake Effect on Milwaukee’s NPR station. Nelson lives in Hartland, Wisconsin, where she teaches at the university level and leads community programs. She gives presentations on mindfulness and writing, creativity, and the second half of life. Nelson holds an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars, an MSSW from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is a certified meditation instructor. More information is available at wakeupthewriterwithin.com
