examine the act of breathing from the viewpoint of a mother
whose two eldest sons have a condition where their ability to
breathe has slowly decreased over their lifespan to the point
where they now fully depend on ventilators.
“Just’ breathing is an act we barely think about, yet without which
we would not survive. These poems are a raw and frank invitation
to the reader to consider the emotional and philosophical effects
of watching those you love gradually become unable to do what
we all take for granted.
This collection follows Kerrison’s debut pamphlet Beyond Caring,
published by Five Leaves in September 2023, which tells her story
as carer for her sons, and looks at their lives as a family with
realism, but also with humour and joy.
The poems in Just Breathe are much closer to the bone. They talk
about the endless struggles to get the support the boys need, the
precariousness of relying on technology to stay alive, but also
about the stubborn determination of the whole family to live life
to the full, whatever that takes.