Aura

by Hillary Leftwich

Aura is more than a memoir— it’s a spell book for survival, a powerful promise from mother to son, and an intimate examination of power, spirituality, and the abuse of both. Hillary Leftwich weaves together the stories of her life to create startlingly raw memories that are both personal and profoundly universal. She explores the devastating impact of patriarchy in her own life while searching for answers in witchcraft, womanhood, and motherhood. Urgently portrayed and deeply felt, Aura is a complex tapestry of letters, spells, and memories. Her story is a vivid confrontation against an unforgiving world that traps women and children in the systems meant to save them. This is a story for seekers, searchers, and anyone in the process of saving themselves and their loved ones.
“There were seven of us in our writing group reading pieces of Aura, and at times we’d all be stuck in tears and had to get ourselves together to try to give feedback. I’m doing the same while trying to write this blurb, and now I realize that was/is the feedback: stuck in tears and awe of Hillary’s vulnerability and shadows, and she’s gracious enough to offer us protection and strength while doing so. Even my crying while reading feels protected. Hillary Leftwich admits to having resistance to writing about her childhood because it feels dirty and secretive. But Aura engages with resistance by pushing into the dirt and secrecy and writing from those places because it feels necessary for survival and healing.” –Steven Dunn, Whiting Award Winner, author of water & power

“A Psalm for Aura: I include this book in the care package I’m curating for my dead (Mother, this book is for you, too); I believe in the sort of grace that erupts while standing in line at the E-Zee Check 24hr Payday Loan; I affirm the power of whatever you have on hand to save your ass; I uphold writing as a potential site of transformative magic. Fuck the Patriarchy. Let the visionaries to the front of the line. Let Hillary Leftwich to the front and may her remarkable memoir be read and celebrated far and wide.” –Selah Saterstrom, author of Ideal Suggestions and Slab

“Unfortunately both trauma and spousal abuse are common experiences, but there is nothing common about Leftwich’s approach to writing down her bones. When she writes about the “careless words” doctors use, we see it as the motivation behind her own meticulously careful compositions. As she finds control upon the page, she finds control in life. As epilepsy seizes the body of her son, again and again, Leftwich’s story seizes us, and through the fractured narrative, we learn it’s not reliability the author’s aiming for when she makes this montage of clinical paperwork and Hail Mary’s, but alchemy. The form recollects the hermit crab shell narratives Susanna Kaysen employed when she wrote her own memoir, Girl, Interrupted while the storyline summons to mind Stephanie Land’s Maid, but Aura is indeed a love letter. Written to her child, but also to and for herself, and to and for all of us. Hillary Leftwich writes a way forward in which she rescues herself and teaches us how to do the same.” –Sarah Elizabeth Schantz, author of Fig

Hillary Leftwich is the author of Ghosts Are Just Strangers Who Know How to Knock (CCM Press/The Accomplices). Her hybrid collection, Saint Dymphna’s Playbook, is forthcoming from PANK Books in 2023. She is the founder and owner of Alchemy Author Services & Workshop and is a creative writing professor at the University of Denver and an assistant creative writing professor at Colorado College. She is an intuitive Tarologist and has been reading Tarot for over 25 years and studies under several well-known psychic medium mentors. She lives in Denver with her partner and son.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography

294 pages, Paperback

First published July 21, 2022

About the author

Hillary Leftwich is the author of Ghosts Are Just Strangers Who Know How to Knock (CCM Press, 2019 and Agape Editions, 2023 new edition), Aura (Future Tense Books and Blackstone Audio Publishing, 2022), and Saint Dymphna’s Playbook (TBA). She has published or has work forthcoming in The Sun, Santa Fe Writers Project, The Rumpus, Denver Quarterly, and other publications and has written reviews for High Country News, Heavy Feather Review, and others. She teaches creative writing at The University of Denver, Colorado College, Unity College, and Lighthouse Writers, and teaches youth for Lighthouse Youth. She is an active judge for the Colorado Book Awards and has served as a judge for the James Yaffe Prize in fiction and The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards in poetry. She has been awarded scholarships for The Kenyon Review Writers Workshop and the Margaret Randall scholarship for Naropa University. She teaches Tarot and Tarot writing workshops focusing on strengthening divination abilities and writing. Find her www.hillaryleftwich.com and www.pw.org

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a lot to identify with in this book, especially dealing with an abusive baby daddy. Most of all this book is a sort of love letter to Leftwich’s son and it is heartwarming in its sincerity. The writing is good and everything ties together really well.

[Gina Tron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so engaging, I nearly read it all in one sitting. Hillary's reflections on adolescence and childhood are painfully relatable. She articulates the struggles of womanhood in a way that is both very specific to her and universal at the same time. While I'd recommend anyone to read "Aura," I feel it will particularly hit home for female-identifying folk and female-identifying writers/aspiring writers. The "Don't Set Your Expectations Too High, Honey" chapter, and Hillary's commentary on observing a male adult writer while she was a child, are genius. I laughed at her astute observations and cringed at his behavior. This book is a work of art, of survival and it is a beautiful, thoughtful love letter from a mother to her son.

[Kristen Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aura is gritty and magical, dark and light, and so, so powerful. I read the entire book in one sitting, I could not put it down. Hillary Leftwich is a fantastic writer and one of my favorite humans on this planet.

[Jayne Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read one memoir this year, make it this one. A cautionary tale for those whose life choices have led them into relationships with abusers while mistaking them for saviours. A single mother at an early age to a son diagnosed as a toddler with epilepsy, Leftwich battles the boy's abusive father for sole custody only to almost lose him to a series of prolonged seizures that take him to the brink of death. In her loneliness, she opens her heart to men she hopes will provide the stability she and her son need, only to find herself repeatedly in the arms of another the abuser. Throughout the writing, she owns up to every mistake, never tries to make excuses for herself. Instead, she fights with the ferocity of a grizzly mom to make a home where she can raise her son in peace and safety. Every page presents a gritty, raw, strong, warrior of a woman having to learn things the hard way, but learning them nonetheless. Hillary Leftwich is a hero, and a damn fine writer.

[Ariel Kusby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aura is a devastating memoir about a mother's love for her son amidst the traumas of abuse and illness. It weaves literal witchcraft—spells and rituals—throughout the story as antitodes to the darkness. A courageous story of survival.

Thank you to Kevin at Future Tense for the advanced copy of Aura.

[Breezy Barcelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book read like therapy for me. The similarities we have in life are uncanny. However, even for someone unfamiliar with this life, I think it is such an important read. Hilary's vulnerability and honesty is what we need more of. It's also written in such a flowing, beautiful way that made it both compelling to read and also allowed me to feel her experiences.

[Eric S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aura is a beautifully narrated story about how Hillary overcame tragedy and demonstrated her tenacity and strength. She opens up to the reader laying bare her choices, catching herself when she stumbles, but ultimately showing that she has the mindset to prevail.

I don't read many books, but I couldn't put this book down. Hillary is an amazing author and this definitely deserves a read.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of those books, that's slightly outside of my comfort zone, but I tried it anyway. And I must say I'm really pleased I did. It was moving, insightful and powerful. I would definitely recommend.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely and haunting.

[Jennifer Givhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This witchy and wondrous poeta knows that shadow is necessary. She and her words are both empowering and enlightening. I'm grateful for Hillary and her books.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book & was late to work nearly every day this week because I couldn't put it down & go to bed at a reasonable hour.

[Jenny Forrester]

Leftwich is a powerhouse! In this motherhood memoir (and beyond), she creates space for love and self-forgiveness. <3

[Laura Hamlet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest, bold, creatively woven story of abuse, survival, and the power of motherhood. A deep dive into the incomparable and wild love between parent and child.

[Isis · Rating 3 out of 5]

beautiful writing, great story of resilience and the unconditional love a parent has for their child