Sandy Jeffs Livres

Plumbing the depths of human experience in her journey into madness, Sandy Jeffs shares her experience in this collection of poetry reminiscent of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton. With stark dignity and intense fear, these poems cross into a realm where nightmares wrestle with dreams, death by devouring is a way station, and the underworld becomes a tourist destination. In the midst of this darkness, Jeffs's leavening sense of humor peoples her descent with the sirens of the supermarket, a high-tech, technicolor Armageddon, and a modern Cerberus with three Ken, Barbie, and Ronald McDonald. Written with great insight into the experience of madness, this collection will intrigue all readers with an interest in the wayward workings of the mind.

no pot holders, felthats, quilt rugs or sourdoughto show, and no grand projects done, justthese humble haikus that tellthe tale of how we lived through this virusits existential despaircounting off the days. During the pandemic, Melbourne became the most locked down city in the world, restricting five million people largely to the confines of their homes for months on end. Poet and mental health advocate Sandy Jeffs was one of them. This diary, written in haiku form, takes the reader through the daily grind of lockdown, with Sandy’s humorous and sharp insights on local and national politics, as well as international events like the US election, all written from her study, aka haiku central. On the coronacoaster with Sandy, she takes us from humour to despair, counting syllables and case numbers, marking birthdays in lockdown, as sewing machines come into demand, the Arts industry goes into freefall, and Melbourne experiences a black summer followed by the pandemic, a super storm and an earthquake. Her poems mark the changing moods. 

The collection poignantly captures the tumultuous emotions of a child raised in a home marked by domestic violence and alcoholism. Through evocative poetry, it explores themes of pain, bitterness, and the struggle to reconcile painful memories with the desire to forget. The work delves into the complexities of growing up in an unhappy environment, offering a raw and honest reflection on the impact of such a childhood.

Targeting the emotional landscape of teenagers, this collection of poems addresses the risks of mental illness during formative years. It offers profound insights into the struggles of youth, complemented by an introduction from Sandy that explores her own experiences with illness and the connections between schizophrenia and recreational drug use. The work resonates deeply, encouraging young readers to reflect on their perceptions of themselves and the world.

In this moving collection of poems, award winning writer Sandy Jeffs shares her journey through madness over four decades, drawing inspiration from Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' and the motley gathering of characters at the Mad Hatter's tea party.