Write This Second: A Poetic Memoir

Read Kira Lynne Allen's Write This Second: A Poetic Memoir cover-to-cover in order to grasp the arc of her journey. It is not a comprehensive rendering of her life, but a focus on lived experiences highlighting societal tides that must turn. The tides of: racism, incest, poverty, rape, addiction, eating disorders, being silenced, domestic violence, suicide and PTSD that have yet to be addressed by #MeToo or Time's Up. Their deep impact demonstrates how generations of women and children will continue to drown in these tides until we speak to and listen to and believe one another. Staceyann Chin says, it is a baptism in hard truths. Dive in. Read it. Twist and turn your body as you glide though the ocean of Kira's words. Write This Second tells one family's story of generational trauma that sounds an alarm meant to reveal and disrupt the roots of rape culture by proclaiming our authentic selves.

About the Author :
Kira Lynne Allen is poet, performer, collage artist, activist, and Certified InterPlay Leader. She is a four time VONA Voices Fellow, a Poetry for the People alumna, a phenomenal workshop facilitator and a motivational speaker. She is a contributor to All the Women in My Family Sing, Tayo Literary Magazine and Endangered Species, Enduring Values. She has more than a dozen poems in anthologies and two self-published chapbooks. Write This Second: A Poetic Memoir charts her journey from desecration to divinity; from addict and high school dropout to master's degree recipient, in order to sound an alarm meant to reveal and disrupt the roots of rape culture by proclaiming our authentic selves. She has a BA in Creative Writing from Mills College and an MA in Transformative Arts from JFK University. Kira grew up in the Bay Area and raised two brave, brilliant, resilient daughters in Oakland, CA; where she still lives with her partner Kat.

Review :
In Write This Second, Kira Lynne Allen tells her story in haunting verse. The book is divided into three parts: Breaking the Silent Secret Spell, In Faith and Forgiveness, and The River Meets the Sea, in which she recounts the harrowing experiences she survived, her path to healing and finding a way to release internalized physical and psychological violence. Allen shares her journey from trauma and addiction to self-acceptance. Motivated by strong women she learns not to define herself by other people's standards. She shows us how to kick doubt out the door and reclaim a sense of self. Her words reflect her truths, unwrapped raw and compassionate. She reminds us how important it is to speak our truth because "someone else needs your light". We are all connected and by telling our story, devastating secrets lose power and we can help others find comfort, inspiration, maybe even their voice. Write This Second is a soul-piercing, deeply human insight into the workings and repercussions of rape culture; a courageous book that will give hope and determination to anyone who struggles. 5/5 Reviewed by - H.E. Rybol , San Francisco Book Review Kira Lynne Allen works from the strong tradition of Audre Lorde, Sonia Sanchez, and Janice Mirikitani. Write This Second tells of an America so many don't want to see, refuse to see, an America where abuse and racism go hand in hand, where the traumas of family history merge with the trau- mas of the history of people of color in this country. But this astonishing book is also a work of hope and recovery, of a survivor who has healed her- self and passed on a new legacy to her daughters and to her readers. I can't recall the last poetry book that made me cry. Write This Second made me cry. Read it for its witnessing and for its healing. For the triumph of this poet as witness and seer. - David Mura , author of Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei Kira Lynne Allen's poetry is so gorgeous, so rich in honesty, truth, pain and healing, beauty and rage and humanity, that it is going to change lives. It gives permission, and that means that it gives life. It gives off heat and fresh air. It exposes, encourages, challenges, delights. I found it thrilling." - Anne Lamott , New York Times bestselling author of Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life This is one of the most courageous books I've read. With Write This Second Kira Allen brings forth a survivor's howl. There are no easy words here. Allen journeys us through two decades of abuse, devastation, and silence to her triumphant rebirth. Allen is a Phoenix rising from the ashes of trauma. These words are her wings. Let's celebrate her flight. - Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie , author of Karma's Footsteps Your journey from the recovery circles of GLIDE and the poetry workshops for survivors and all people who seek to save their lives through writing their stories--to who you have created yourself today, is nothing short of a miracle. You are a miracle, and you spread the hope that your life spring connects with others as we join to create a river of discovery, new life and a chorus of songs. Keep writing--this second.. - Janice Mirikitani, author of Out of the Dust