Synopsis
Winner of the 2026 International Book Award for Contemporary Poetry. Named an IPPY Outstanding Book of the Year.
When Sarah Hanson realized the life she was living was no longer survivable, she didn't have a plan.
She had instinct. Fear. A body trained to brace for danger. And a quiet, stubborn voice insisting she deserved more.
Conjuring the Hurricane is an award-winning memoir-in-verse that traces the path from survival to self-possession. Through 77 interconnected poems, Hanson explores domestic abuse, childhood trauma, sisterhood, grief, forbidden love, and the long, uneven process of becoming free.
Written in fragments that mirror the way trauma is remembered, these poems capture the moments that change a life: the red flags we explain away, the stories we inherit, the people who help us stay alive, and the courage required to leave what is harming us.
For readers of memoir, poetry, and stories of resilience, Conjuring the Hurricane offers both witness and permission.
For anyone who has ever asked:
How did I get here?
How do I get out?
This book is a permission slip.
Not for the perfect exit.
For the one that saves you.
About the Author
Sarah Hanson received an MA from the University of Chicago, and her workhas been featured in Sierra Nevada Review, The Literary Times, Saranac Review, and Anti-Heroin Chic, among other literary magazines. She is a contributingeditor of Shaking Off the Ashes.The Minnesota native lives in Minneapolis with her husband Jay; her three catsDarwin, Waffles, and Princess Leia; and a codependent To Be Read book pilethat will follow her into the afterlife.Conjuring the Hurricane is her first book.
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