In lyrical prose that embodies the fragmented form, Saint Dymphna's Playbook mixes with hybrid verse, poetry, and lyrical essay detailing a ferocious and unapologetic viewpoint of how a woman's body is seen and governed in a world determined to control and dominate. Themes of suicide, sexual assault, and the male gaze-even in the professional world of being a private investigator, a child, a mother, a lover-each piece pulling from experiences hard to confront. In this playbook of survival, Leftwich allows the reader to bear witness, handing the reader a gift of vulnerability and what it means to be alive in a society where women vanish in more ways than one.
