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Slipstream
120 pages, Paperback
Published September 14, 2025
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January 6, 2026
A slipstream is the space behind an object, to be caught in the flow of air directly behind it, drawn along, compelled to stay in that space, pulled along, caught in the eddies of air. This masterful debut pulls you into a parent's perspective of their child experiencing hospitalisation for mental health, where you are caught in the slipstream of the experience of both parent and child.
It is uncomfortable and uneasy reading because while the institutions and the systems are present to help (and throughout their history, their work has evolved and changed), you as the reader, are continually jostled and buffetted by the difficulty of the parent's relationship with their child, how the parent is trying to make sense of it all for their child, for themselves, for how the system works (or is supposed to work, or at its very best, tries to help the individual).
As the spouse of someone who has experienced the mental health system, the tone and sense of disconnect registered deeply within me. The construction of the suite moves between the thoughts and recollections of the parent, and the relationship and connections with their child. Within these poems, highlighted text reveals another poem within it, like an erasure poem. There is a section at the end, An Erasure, which gives the text plainly. In my reading of the poems, going back to reread the highlighted text opened another layer of meaning, a lens to reread the poem, either through the parent's or the child's perspective.
It is a bracing and challenging text. It is potent and evocative.
Thoroughly recommend.
It is uncomfortable and uneasy reading because while the institutions and the systems are present to help (and throughout their history, their work has evolved and changed), you as the reader, are continually jostled and buffetted by the difficulty of the parent's relationship with their child, how the parent is trying to make sense of it all for their child, for themselves, for how the system works (or is supposed to work, or at its very best, tries to help the individual).
As the spouse of someone who has experienced the mental health system, the tone and sense of disconnect registered deeply within me. The construction of the suite moves between the thoughts and recollections of the parent, and the relationship and connections with their child. Within these poems, highlighted text reveals another poem within it, like an erasure poem. There is a section at the end, An Erasure, which gives the text plainly. In my reading of the poems, going back to reread the highlighted text opened another layer of meaning, a lens to reread the poem, either through the parent's or the child's perspective.
It is a bracing and challenging text. It is potent and evocative.
Thoroughly recommend.
Displaying 1 of 1 review