68 Seconds - Donna Darmanin

68 seconds: writing catharsis.

Donna Darmanin’s debut poetry book is not an easy read. It is a confessional journal of a highly dysfunctional domestic life. Her imagery is often violent, degrading, angry, resentful, devastating. She looks her perpetrators in the eye. Her voice, though often vulnerable, is sure and unwavering, grounded in self-knowledge.

In her own words: “This book is an apology. An apology to my younger self for harbouring so much blame, so much shame. It’s about healing my inner child. I kept praying for the world to forgive me. For not being present enough, for punishing myself.”