Dressing the Bear

Winner of the 2023 Louise Bogan Award, Susan L. Leary’s Dressing the Bear is a collection of poems composed in the wake of her brother’s passing that explores the themes of love, loss, grief, longing, and addiction. Many of these poems come in the form of a direct address to her brother: how to speak to the dead now? How to convince herself of her brother’s continuation in the next life? Of equal concern is the matter of love: what kind of love exists between a brother and a sister, between the addict and those who love him? More than anything, however, these poems seek to unravel her brother’s wounds, to understand his pride and shame as a result of addiction, as well as to honor and illuminate his unique wisdom-his charm, his humor, and his creativity-that on even his most difficult days was always there.