In this visceral debut poetry chapbook,
My Mother, the Butcher
, Mexican American poet, Gerard Robledo, sets his speaker to confront the lasting scars of a traumatic childhood marked by alcoholism, neglect, and emotional cruelty. Undaunted, he dredges the devastating history of familial pain and a mother’s callousness which haunts his daily life as a single father raising a daughter. In the process, he tries to reconcile his cultural and masculine identity with his own truth, as his struggles with alcoholism, religion, and self-worth threaten to consume him. This sincere poetry collection dissects the complexity of generational trauma—fractured parts of the self; the struggle to heal, break free, and find one’s identity. It also presents a necessary perspective on the non-traditional experiences of a single Latino father, the struggles faced, and the beauty of one’s own humanity—even in the face of unrelenting pain.