Silver Birch Press is pleased to announce the October 1, 2014 release of Vanilla Milk: A Memoir Told in Poems by Chanel Brenner. The 104-page collection focuses on a mother’s and family’s response to the sudden death of the author’s six-year-old son. These poems might be read as written snapshots forming an elegiac album, depicting how a traumatic loss alters relationships, love, and parenting, and perceptions of danger, time, and life. Characterized by unsparing honesty, clarity, and restraint, the poems explore the limits inherent in “recovering” from the grief of losing a child, and the need to continue experiencing joy. Includes a 20-page album of family photographs.
Praise for Vanilla Milk by Chanel Brenner:
“The poems inside of this book were torn from the heart of a woman whose suffering is so immense that it could swallow her whole. Instead of letting the staggering pain consume her, Chanel Brenner crafted these undeniably gorgeous meditations on the death of her son. I read Vanilla Milk four times before putting it down, because I was afraid to let it go. Chanel Brenner has crafted a resplendent work of art that is unrivaled in its ability to make sense of the ebbs and flows of grief.” MATTHEW LOGELIN, New York Times bestselling author of Two Kisses for Maddy
“Chanel Brenner’s Vanilla Milk is a transcendent work. The skill and courage of these poems inspire me to be a better writer, the generosity in them inspires me to be a better person.” MIA SARA, author at [PANK]
“Brenner’s book joins the ranks of great elegies or lamentations for the loss of a child: Ben Jonson’s poem for his son, Jan Kochanowski’s Laments, Stephane Mallarme’s unfinished long poem “A Touch of Anatole,” and two contemporary works—Stan Rice’s Some Lamb and Edward Hirsch’s Gabriel. Brenner’s book of poems dealing with the loss of her son Riley stands along with these great classics—art’s attempt through poetry to fathom the unfathomable sorrow of suffering. Vanilla Milk breaks the heart, moves the soul as few books of poetry can—but, like all great art, it heals as well. You will never see the world the same way again.” JACK GRAPES, author of The Naked Eye, Method Writing, and Poems So Far So Far So Good So Far to Go
“Vanilla Milk…is a surprising blend of formats which melds a memoir to poetry…Chanel Brenner is not the first to use poems to immortalize and capture the events surrounding a child’s death: Stan Rice’s Some Lamb is one example of an outstanding synthesis of poem/memoir — and Vanilla Milk deserves to take its place alongside it, on the shelf of exceptional writings.” MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Chanel Brenner’s poems have appeared in Cultural Weekly, Poet Lore, Rattle, The Coachella Review, Diverse Voices Quarterly, Foliate Oak, Glassworks, and others. She was awarded first prize for her poetry in The Write Place At the Write Time’s contest. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son.
Find Vanilla Milk: A Memoir Told in Poems by Chanel Brenner at Amazon.com.
Silver Birch Press 