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Local author and playwright Jeremy Jusek has released his next book, which is a deeply personal collection of poetry about Alzheimer’s, and the memories and grief surrounding the death of his late grandmother, Mary Jane Crouser. The book is titled The Details Will Be Gone Soon and it covers both his grandmother’s decline and the fond memories the poet has of her in good health. His masterful use of heartbreaking imagery, compassionate anecdotes, and the harsh realities of Alzheimer’s obscene symptoms help create a realistic portrayal of the disease—making it possible for anyone who has been touched by this insidious condition to relate.
“This is a breathtaking work that stands out among the other treatises on Alzheimer’s,” said ELJ Editions’ founder and owner Ariana D. Den Bleyker. “This is a disease that affects millions of older Americans, to the point that most people have been affected by it in one way or another. This is an important book that we felt the world needed to read, and we’re proud to include it in the ELJ catalog.”
A core aspect of this collection is its ability to mimic the mental degradation inherent in Alzheimer’s. Some of the poems employ surrealist elements to portray both Mary Jane’s love of impressionist paintings and her struggle with memory loss as the disease advanced. Some poems are left broken and piecemeal, with grammatical errors or abrupt interruptions, and the table of contents lists every poem as appearing on page 1, which is meant to portray the frustrating realities of Alzheimer’s.
“As a loved one’s condition becomes more severe, simply being remembered and having that shared connection becomes a priceless gift,” said author Jeremy Jusek. “But the next day always feels like you’re starting over from square one. You start to ask yourself ‘will today be different, or will I be helpless to watch as they spiral into frustration, childishness, and brain fatigue?’ I didn’t know what to do with that powerlessness, so I just started writing. And the more I explored, the more I found to write about.”
The Details Will Be Gone Soon has been nominated for the CLMP Firecracker Award and the Eric Hoffer Prize, entering the 2023-2024 prize circuit. In the meantime, it has found a home with others who have struggled with close family members who have had Alzheimer’s before.
“I am currently the caretaker of a close family member,” said Sandra Feen, the beat poet laureate of the state of Ohio. “I’ve read Jeremy’s collection multiple times. It is a masterpiece that sustains me through these most difficult days.”
The Details Will Be Gone Soon is available through the publisher’s website, elj-editions.com. Ariana and the ELJ staff have promised to donate all proceeds of the collection to support the Alzheimer’s Association.
About Jeremy Jusek
Jeremy is the author of three books: We Grow Tomatoes in Tiny Towns, The Less-Traveled Street, and The Details Will Be Gone Soon. He is currently serving as the poet laureate of Parma, Ohio and has run the West Side Poetry Workshop since 2015. He is the host of Poetry Spotlight, an interview-style podcast for the Ohio Poetry Association. He founded the Marietta College Writing Fellowship, which is entering its fourth year. He has won numerous awards and his work has appeared in dozens of literary magazines, anthologies, and more. For more information, please visit jeremyjusek.com.
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