{"product_id":"paying-for-gas-with-quarters-a-parents-odyssey-in-poems-paperback","title":"Paying for Gas with Quarters: A Parent's Odyssey in Poems - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eAly Allen\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn her debut full-length collection of poetry, \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003ePaying for Gas with Quarters\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, U.S. Army veteran Aly Allen \u003cb\u003eexplores and illuminates the war \u003c\/b\u003ein Afghanistan, \u003cb\u003e wartime and childhood traumas\u003c\/b\u003e, and \u003cb\u003epost-war parenthood\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAllen deployed to Afghanistan as a \u003cb\u003ebroadcast journalist with the U.S. 10th Mountain Division\u003c\/b\u003e. A divorced parent of two, Allen is neurodivergent, as are her kids. She also is diagnosed with \u003cb\u003ePost-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)\u003c\/b\u003e. She recently began gender-transition, after years of sobriety and therapy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAllen's writing \u003cb\u003eoften ponders the effects war has on her children and first wife\u003c\/b\u003e. Soldiers and veterans are directly affected by wartime experiences, she says, but \u003cb\u003ehow many others inherit these wounds?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMany of Allen's poems \u003cb\u003ethrust readers into the midst of daily chaos-\u003c\/b\u003ewhether in the parental or soldierly gaze-weaving attempts to \u003cb\u003enavigate parent-child relationships\u003c\/b\u003e both present and past, \u003cb\u003ewrestling with grief and guilt\u003c\/b\u003e, but also \u003cb\u003egrowing in hope toward stability and healing\u003c\/b\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eHERE'S WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING: \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"War, family, life, and death collide in this collection. Allen's reverberating lines beat with ear-splitting blasts of beauty.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e-Jason Poudrier, author of \u003ci\u003eRed Fields\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e◆◆◆◆◆ \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"\u003ci\u003e'No \/ matter the changes \/ they never feel \/ correct'.\u003c\/i\u003e The odyssey of Aly Allen's \u003ci\u003ePaying for Gas with Quarters\u003c\/i\u003e takes the reader through the trials of parenthood, adult relationships, a military career, transitioning into civilian life, and discovering self-identity through it all. Her debut collection challenges memory and the present to hold beauty and pain together in one vision, just like a field of poppies blooming in a field to honor what was lost and what should be celebrated.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e-Lisa Stice, author of \u003ci\u003eFORCES\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePermanent Change of Station\u003c\/i\u003e, and other poetry collections\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e◆◆◆◆◆ \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Aly Allen's words awaken us to the parallels of military and war to parenthood. The messy, entangled chaos that is inevitably life-changing. She is unafraid to reveal her human-ness through these poems, the places 'Where I-am becomes where I-am-lost.' \u003ci\u003ePaying for Gas with Quarters\u003c\/i\u003e weaves together complex truths: War changes us and yet leaves us longing, still, for connection.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e-Jessi M. Atherton, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Time War Takes: Poems\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e◆◆◆◆◆ \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"New war voices bring new war stories! Aly Allen's clear-eyed poems of battles are tinged with humor and hope. Regardless of their own circumstances and life-experiences, readers will surely be comforted with this revelation: We are all in this together. We are each deserving of grace.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e-Randy Brown, author of \u003ci\u003eWelcome to FOB Haiku: War Poems from Inside the Wire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e◆◆◆◆◆ \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"In \u003ci\u003ePaying for Gas with Quarters\u003c\/i\u003e, Aly Allen weaves the chaos of war into the fabric of parenthood. Her poems crash like mortar fire over the reader in staccato bursts of heart-wrenching emotion. She finds commonalities between the everyday isolation of parenting, and the 'composed vibrations' of battle. This collection is at once a quiet elegy and a defiant war cry that reminds readers how fragile-and valuable-life is.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e-Gary Reddin, author of \u003ci\u003eAn Abridged History of American Violence\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eQuantum Entanglement\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 96\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.23 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e October 09, 2023\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51750127141152,"sku":"9781953665225","price":16.18,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/a49905b1fcfd1d7bacc143828f4d8286.webp?v=1779943765","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/paying-for-gas-with-quarters-a-parents-odyssey-in-poems-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}