Haunted Bodies

by Christina Mrozik

Haunted Bodies is a collection of drawings and writings created while moving through and beyond a year of depression. At their core, they are about the essentials of what it is to be a human who hurts, one who wrestles in the dark and stares down pain in a fierce struggle to mend.

The poems were written concurrent with my daily wrestling; they were an attempt to name my experience and find a landing pad amid the fog. The dated entries are directly pulled from my personal journal, and included as an unedited approach to sharing my constantly pained headspace.

The drawings were created while coming out of the miasma and were my approach to capture the “haunted” feeling of inaccessibility. Merging pieces of organ, flora, and animal, these faceless drawings focus on the body and were an exercise in reclaiming my own.

Releasing this collection as a book creates a physical reminder both of the reality of a difficult circumstance and the community moving through the common casualty of life alongside you. It creates the space that only books can, where one may participate whilst in the solitude of their experience, yet close and put back up on the shelf.

Genres: Poetry, Art

60 pages, Hardcover

Published December 1, 2018

Reviews

[Rebeca F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This a pretty delicate and stunning book, touching and exquisite. It's a mixed media work by Christina Mrozik, which is an artist I've loved for a long time. I discovered her, as most, for her visual art, but some years ago, after struggling with a depression, she released this tiny book, which combines her beautiful art, along with poetry and journal entries, all very intimate and raw.
The result is gorgeous and moving, exquisitely poignant.

[Kieran Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an introduction to poetry, this was quite good. There were several lines that hit hard, but overall the mix of mediums was what made this book. Intermixing images, short poetry, and diary style entries makes this book a unique experience that is well worth having.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most beautiful and moving book on my shelf.

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed media work of art, journal entries and poetry "created while moving through and beyond a year of depression." This was a beautiful and haunting book.