Noelle Kocot?s ninth collection, Ascent of the Mothers, is a sagacious testament to the ways in which poetry can shape personhood. 

?I am nothing? they write, ?Or else I have made myself / Too big for words.? The scope of this book is marked by Kocot?s psychic journey punctuated by a near-fatal car crash, which elicited a new understanding of their spirituality and gender nonconforming identity. Generous, self-aware, and resilient, Ascent of the Mothers is a treasure to behold and be shared.