A Socially Acceptable Breakdown by Patrick Roche

 Truly an amazing piece of work. The author's descriptions of mental health - the okay, the bad and how he fights it is touching and immediately recognizable. I have experienced many of the same mental health that the author describes in this book and to see what he writes and to read it and recognized it in my experiences is truly incredible. There are specific discussions of the poems below if you would prefer not to read until after publishing.

The way that Patrick Roche uses pop culture in his poetry to create and expand upon a theme is a style that I have not seen previously used in this way. Like in the poem, "Retcon", where he takes the Phoenix from X-men comics and other comic characters and uses them to make the reader understand what he is saying. 

"Siri" is another poem that can be heartbreakingly familiar to the reader familiar with depression, feeling isolated and unsure of your family. Probably one of; if not the most tear-inducing poems of the book. 

A few of the poems that really spoke to me are: "My Brain Plays a Game of Telephone", "Fairy Tale", , "Siri", "Sonnet for Free Wi-Fi",  "Instructions on Having the Perfect Panic Attack", "Self-Portrait as Opossum". 

The final poem in the book is titled "Every 40 Seconds" and is a poem that is both personal and global looking at suicide and as the reader learns - "Every 40 Seconds" a person dies from suicide. 

The book is just under a hundred pages which means that I devoured in less than a day. I truly recommend this book. 

I received this book free from NetGalley and the Independent Book Publishers Association to read and review. This is my unbiased review. 

Five out of five stars