The Third Beat

by Lauren Lavín

96 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2026

Reviews

[Laura Donovan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a brilliant little weird book with some much-needed ghostie vibes. Lauren Lavin tackles death, sleep paralysis, womanhood, relationships, and what to do with unimaginable grief, all in under 80 pages. She finds humor in horror in a way I wish we all could. I think it’s the only way she survived the saddest experiences of this book.

[Mitch Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars, no questions. Really enjoyed this. Made myself slow down while reading it so I *didn't* finish it in a single sitting, because I wanted to have more time to take it in. About halfway through, running on an elliptical and listening to The Mars Volta, I stopped reading to reflect on my experience with sleep paralysis in my 20s, and then I started writing an essay about body dysmorphia that I've never figured out how to crack (I've never wanted to not be alive, but I have very much wanted to exist without the tether of a body). Which is also to say, there's a momentum and pacing to Lavín's writing that is both very much for me and very much made me think about the frenetic energy of being human, and how all of that energy allows us to find our way through (whatever that might look like to each of us).

Side note: I haven't yet read a book published by Auto Focus that hasn't been exceptional.

[firewokwithmee · Rating 5 out of 5]

ya know i love the smashing pumpkins and whenever i think about descriptors for their lyrics, billy corgan’s lyrics were always described as “confessional” and idk i never really got that vibe ever. however these essays? wow. genuinely feels like stories I have no right to hear about. and yet Lauren Lavin gives it to us and man i am terrible at describing prose but the words/sentences flowed so good from one to another that you just cannot stop reading. learned a lot about her, womanhood, aztec pantheon (which i thought i knew a lot about before this!) and just being and grief and fucking. excellent !!!

[Aug Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful vignettes, imbued with the ethereal magic that some of us know lurks right alongside and often intertwines with our everyday lives. Lavín writes from a place well aware that Death is the black back part of the mirror that allows us to see Life. Two of the essays towards the end resonated with me the most. Where There Used To Be Razors There Are Barcoded Hanging Cards for its straight-up talk of how fucked the system is. And Cante Jondo, a beautiful meditation on poetry, music, catharsis, and death, featuring Lorca and London Calling. I loved it

[Joshua Turek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the raw poetically confessional writing. She takes us to unfiltered places in ourselves by revealing the depths of her own experience. Highly recommend Lauren Lavin's writing

[Seth Morales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful, raw, an unstoppable mix of truth and vulnerability. There is nothing hidden in these pages. Everything is laid bare.

[rylie taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and beautiful. Exactly what I needed at this exact moment.