Shield the Joyous

On Christmas Day in 2017, author Christopher X. Shade's younger brother was found nonresponsive in rural Alabama, and died that night. With this book of poems, Shade's journey to better understand addiction and the loss of loved ones draws from both the world of his imagination and, in poignant poetic memoir, from his Alabama roots. This follows his 2019 debut novel The Good Mother of Marseille, its search for belonging through turbulent Marseille streets to a better understanding of oursel...