Cheryl A. Ossola

A neonatal ICU nurse, consumed with grief, suffers from disturbingly vivid visions; a teenage girl is swept up in a doomed love affair with a young man interned at Manzanar, a World War II prison camp for Japanese Americans. The lives of these two women, though decades and worlds apart, are indelibly intertwined.

Kira Esposito knows loss all too well—her father abandoned the family and her baby was stillborn. Then her mother's unexpected death sparks disturbing dreams that don’t follow the rules—she’s not herself in them; she’s a girl she doesn’t know, from a distant time. When the dreams invade her waking hours, threatening her work performance and the fragile babies she cares for, Kira is terrified, then obsessed. Piecing together what she knows, she comes to believe they aren’t dreams at all—they’re memories, her grandmother Maddalena’s.

As Maddalena’s story unfurls, Kira is drawn in deeper, unearthing her grandmother’s 1945 love affair with a Japanese American boy. Leaving behind both home and husband, Kira follows Maddalena’s memories to the high desert, and to Manzanar, hoping to discover what she needs to know—the truth about her family and her own capacity for love.

This is a gorgeous collection of prose poetry. Authors included in this anthology:

Ingrid Andersson, Lisa Bellamy, Adam Berlin, Jean Biegun, Bonnie Demerjian, Timothy Duffy, TK Edmond, Michael Garrigan, Renee Gilmore, Beth Gordon, Courtney Hitson, Steven Jakobi, Kathryn Kimball, Diane LeBlanc, Jayne Marek, Natalie Marino, Robert Miltner, Hannah Newman, Cheryl A. Ossola, Tamara L Panici, D Larissa Peters, Michael Pfeifer, Nina Pick, Kiy Pozzi, Charles Rafferty, Mary Jo Robinson-Jamison, Daniel Romo, Sarah Seidel, Juanita Smart, Onna Solomon, Christopher Stewart, Lucinda Trew, D A Verwers, Adam D. Weeks, Lenore Weiss, Brian Whalen

The first anthology in a series designed to spark conversation and protest. Contained within are thoughtful, thought-provoking essays on immigration, women's rights, race relations, and concerns for American society by Jaynie Royal, Eugene Gregory, Nora Shychuk, Rob Waters, Laurie Ann Doyle, Stephen D. Gutierrez, Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Martha Haakmat, and Mikhal Weiner. The anthology also includes a short story by Raymond Luczak and poems by Rose Knapp, Lily Iona MacKenzie, Cheryl A. Ossola, Sandy Roffey, and Daniel A. Olivas. We are honored to provide a medium in which these authors can Speak and Speak Again. Pact Press is immensely proud to donate all net proceeds from the sale of this anthology to support the fine work of the Southern Poverty Law Center in their battle against discrimination.

Novel excerpt: HOW LONG A SHADOW in VIA: Voices in Italian Americana, Issue 35.2,

Fall 2024

Poem: "Infinite Blues" in Eastern Iowa Review, Issue 18: Heaven(S)/Sky, 2024

Poem: "Cat, Unburied" in boats against the current, Aug. 29, 2022 

Flash: "How to Suffer: A Guide for the Lovelorn Traveler" in After the Pause, Spring 2022 (pages 8-10)

Essay: "Sometimes the Story Writes Itself" in Writers Digest, June 10, 2019

Short story: "Lemon Suite" in Fourteen Hills, Issue 24, May 2018

Poem: "Fishing" in Switchback, Issue 2016 Relaunch Celebration 

Program notes and features: San Francisco Ballet, 2002–2018 

10-minute plays: Edith's Edibles and The Goddess on the Wall, presented by Monday Night Playground, Berkeley, California, 2017

Feature articles and editorials: Dance Magazine and Dance Studio Life, 2000–2016