Because: A Lyric Memoir

Because is a narrative long poem that explores, with vividness and precision, the shifting and uncertain landscapes of childhood memory. Unfolding through a series of precise, jewel-like scenes, Because bears witness to the author's experience of an abuse that continued for many years. Propelled by the powerful litany of the word "because," Mensch's poem builds a heartbreaking tale that is at once generous, empathetic, and unsparing. Heartbreakingly clear-eyed in its account, Because is an unflinching meditation on the vulnerabilities and dangers of childhood -- one that succumbs neither to self-pity nor platitudes, but instead finds consolation in the healing power of its own narrative act.