A lyric reckoning with the radical possibility of joy.

Jonathan Bailey maps the process of transformation, weaving themes of longing, belonging, and self-discovery. Set against the beauty of the West where the buzz of cicadas and the song of the hermit thrush echo across the desert, the collection draws power from the land's ability to hold both desolation and renewal. Bailey's poems embrace contradiction as essential to healing, refusing to separate pain from beauty or vulnerability from strength. Rather than offering closure, the collection reveals how wholeness is forged through emotional risk and the clarity gained by facing oneself fully.