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Book Cover for: Slow Walk Home, Suzanne Nussey

Slow Walk Home

Suzanne Nussey

Slow Walk Home by Suzanne Nussey

Slow Walk Home, by Suzanne Nussey is a poignant collection of poetry that masterfully interlaces the threads of the sacred with the fabric of the mundane, creating a rich tapestry of reflective thought and universal appeal. Nussey's poems transcend mere reminiscence, elevating everyday familial and personal memories to engage with themes of God, Time, and the unseen, transforming small, intimate moments into profound reflections on eternity.

The collection is lauded for its seamless transition from the domestic to the divine, embodying a modern yet timeless poetic voice that echoes ancient contemplative traditions. Nussey's skill in this weaving is particularly notable for its lack of pretension. It relies on natural insights rather than complex academic constructs, making it accessible to all readers.

Critics praise Nussey for her use of unique and unexpected metaphors and a tone that confronts the raw realities of life-death, illness, and loss, alongside motherhood, love, faith, and redemption. Through her poems, Nussey invites us into a private world. One that is deeply personal yet universally relatable, illuminated by her clear and evocative language.

The book also reflects on the social and historical contexts that shape personal and collective memory, examining the promises and limitations of mid-century societal norms against today's more enlightened perspectives. The juxtaposition of past and present enriches the collection, providing a window into the evolving dynamics of society and personal identity.

Described as a spiritual autobiography, Slow Walk Home is brave and contemplative. It utilizes poetry to explore and question the spiritual certitudes of its narrator. The collection offers readers a space for meditation and reflection, encouraging a deeper engagement with the text as a form of prayer and discovery.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Saint Julian Press, Inc.
  • Publish Date: Aug 16th, 2024
  • Pages: 100
  • Language: English
  • Edition: Sjp012024 - undefined
  • Dimensions: 9.00in - 6.00in - 0.21in - 0.32lb
  • EAN: 9781955194297
  • Categories: CanadianSubjects & Themes - FamilyWomen Authors

About the Author

Nussey, Suzanne: - Suzanne Nussey holds an M.A. in creative writing from Syracuse University, where she studied under W. D. Snodgrass and Philip Booth. Canadian poet Dennis Lee mentored her at the University of Toronto. She has taught English and writing, earned an M.A. in pastoral counseling, and worked with new Canadians in economic development programs. Her poetry, creative non-fiction, and essays have appeared in a variety of Canadian and US magazines, anthologies, and on-line blogs. Working as a freelance writer and editor in the areas of religion, psychology, and health and wellness, she has also facilitated writing workshops for community groups and for unhoused women. Suzanne lives in Ottawa, Ontario, on the unceded traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people.

Praise for this book


Without minimizing the complexity of the past, Slow Walk Home examines the narrow promises of mid-century social expectations against the speaker's and the reader's present-day awareness. The complacency of middle-class back yards is shattered by an air-raid siren; a stay-at-home mom protects her son by means of a heroic lie; mother-daughter bonds are tested and reforged; and a longing for spiritual certitude is relentlessly interrogated by doubt. Readers who recall the Cold War and feminism's Second Wave will find much to recognize in this collection, which offers a deeply personal and illuminating window into the influences of the recent past.


-Anne Marie Todkill
Onion Seeping




Slow Walk Home is a work of spiritual autobiography that accords its subject grace: that is to say, it turns away neither from her dignity nor from her abjection. It is brave. It is also, in moments, prayerful, using the technology of verse to wring the meanings from a set of simple phrases. We can meditate in and with it. Suzanne Nussey is undeniably a religious poet, as devout as she is heterodox - in tune with a tradition she is also radically remaking.


-Luke Hathaway
The Affirmations and Years, Months, Days