Separation Anxiety

Explores the emotional toll of separation; from a partner, a sense of self, or a homeland.

About the Book: • This poignant debut by Gavin Bradley explores the emotional toll of different kinds of separation: from a partner, a previously held sense of self, or a home and the people left behind. • The main narrative follows the deterioration of a long-term relationship, interweaving poems dealing with the loneliness of immigration and the anxiety of separation from Northern Ireland, the poet’s homeland. • These personal poems enter their stories through a variety of characters and places, from dock builders to dogs, from shorelines to volcanoes. • Sections of the collection examine a post-Troubles’ experience in Northern Ireland—evoking the conflict of growing up with bombs and domineering Catholicism—tell grandfather stories, and show a lasting love for the people, the language, and the land. • Bradley was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. His poetry in this volume speaks about holding on to who you are and moving forward: changed, but intact. • Separation Anxiety ultimately conveys a message of hope, reminding us that “we’ll be remembered for / ourselves, and not the spaces we / leave behind.” “I actually set out to write a book strictly about relationships, but noticed how, when things were going wrong in that, I would find myself missing home; the people, the vernacular, the land, the sense of belonging. I realized that both experiences were two sides of the same coin and wrote that book instead.” Audience: Anybody dealing with separation, a break-up or homesickness will relate to the content, although the language and content are accessible enough that most people could pick it up and enjoy it. It will appeal to twenty and thirty somethings dealing with relationship anxieties; those who would seek out the likes of Rupi Kaur. Finally, there are large Irish communities in most Canadian and Eastern American cities who will value this book.

Bradley Gavin :

Gavin Bradley is an award-winning writer from Belfast, Northern Ireland, currently living in Edmonton, on Treaty 6 territory. His work has appeared in The Irish Times, The North, Best New British and Irish Poets, and Glass Buffalo.

#10 on the Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, April 23, 2023

#2 on the Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, March 19, 2023

#8 on the Alberta Non-fiction Bestsellers list, March 19, 2023

#9 on Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, January 15, 2023

#8 on the Alberta Non-fiction Bestsellers list, June 12, 2022

#1 on the Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, June 12, 2022

#2 on the Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, June 5, 2022

#7 on Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, April 10, 2022

Justin Bell, Edmonton Journal, March 24, 2022:
Bradley deals with difficult emotions he’s revealing to a wider audience, a level of vulnerability and exposure that can be challenging. But it can also lead to something constructive, a release valve.

Gavin Bradley, The Quad, March 21, 2022:
Separation Anxiety follows the deterioration of a long-term relationship, interweaving poems dealing with the loneliness of immigration and the anxiety of separation from home. The idea was to explore the emotional toll of different kinds of separation and loss, but to do so without losing a sense of hope that things can get better. I think it’s a book that a lot of people can relate to. Whether you’re part of an immigrant community or not, separation is something we all go through at different times in our lives.

#3 on Edmonton Poetry Bestsellers list, April 3, 2022

“Gavin Bradley writes with great heart, vulnerability, and an engaging lilt and lyricism, taking the reader on an unforgettable journey historically, geographically, and emotionally.” Joanna Lilley, author of Endlings

“From its first ‘soundless swan dive’, Gavin Bradley's Separation Anxiety grips, immediate and compelling. Bradley's ‘song-stew’ lyricism, salted with the cadence of his native Belfast, simmers with vivid imagery, at times startling and unsettling. Peppered with uneasy ghosts of the Northern Ireland Troubles, foundered love and dicey characters (himself no less), this is ‘holy water’ with a sting to summon and salve the exiled and the albatrossed of heart. Separation Anxiety is a brilliant, potent, poignant and significant debut by a poet destined to make his mark.” Anne Casey, award-winning writer and poet