At the End of my Walk is a memoir written in narrative poetry. Cole Bluhm is a storyteller who gets at the heart of the journey of transformation. Divided into seven sections: Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back; Childhood; The Father Complex; The Mother Complex; Lost; Found; and We Are All Coyotes, her psychological journey celebrates the resiliency of the human spirit and its desire to grow, to love, to live in community, and to become wild and free.
Bio
My childhood was spent in a San Francisco working class neighborhood. My diary, Sarah, became my best friend. Life in the city filled her pages: fog racing over Twin Peaks each afternoon; my Gram, brother and I dipping jelly doughnuts into milked-down coffee on Saturday mornings; our father, nicknamed Harry the Horse, driving up in his T-bird convertible, a Camel cigarette perpetually hanging from his mouth. Our glamorous blonde shiksa mother, Bunny, practicing for acting auditions. Why had the Catholic kids next-door made fun of our father's "big Jewish nose"? Why didn't I have a rosary to save my family from hell and the fire that burned forever? What was Gram saying as she crooned in Yiddish with a worried look upon her face? When we moved to the suburbs, then out to Stinson Beach and Bolinas, I kept on writing to answer those questions and never stopped.
"Bluhm's passionate, stunning poems chronicle universal coming-of-age stories that are evocative, sometimes excruciating and hilarious. In poems about childhood, the longing is so pure and universal - the kid's heart is so revealed. Illustrated in bright and clear yet textured brushstrokes, Bluhm's hard-won honesty and insight transform sadness into magic."
Terri Tate, Author of Crooked Smile
"Whether exploring childhood yearning on the streets of San Francisco in Liberty Street, a complex relationship with her grandmother in Bathroom at the Ritz, reflections on matters of the heart in Romantic Love, or growth of compassion in Summer in the City, Bluhm's powerful, vivid narratives offer a front row seat on a transformative journey. A breakthrough collection in the genre of confessional poetry."
Margit Liesche, Author of Triptych
"Let us celebrate these pages, this record that Claudia Bluhm has lived a full life with her eyes and ears, her heart and mind wide open."
Daniel Coshnear, Author of Separation Anxiety
