You cannot care for something that you cannot feel.

The Saddle Hurts, Too is a poetic excavation through the grit and grime of personal and intergenerational history. A hybrid text of essays, prose and poetry, this collection explores what stands in the way of belonging, exposing what hides beneath anger, guilt and shame. Breezy's debut challenges us to reconsider our responsibility to ourselves, to time, to nature, and to one another. Even something that helps carry us and offers us support—a saddle, for instance—can be uncomfortable, painful even, excruciating. With this burden, Breezy writes towards joy, movement, safety and healing. In effect, The Saddle Hurts, Too reveals an experiment in thinking that attempts to break free from isolation and bind one unconditionally to unions of ritual, kinship and belonging.

15% of proceeds from pre-order sales were donated to the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal. 

POETRY / ESSAYS

First printing

Perfect-bound

Special elements: light blue foil on cover

104 pages

ISBN | 978-1-988355-23-8

Cover art | Sophie Marisol

Cover typography | Marcela Huerta

Editor | Ashley Obscura

Blurbs

“The Saddle Hurts, Too asks us to see the in-between space. The words tell stories of woundedness and resilience, connection and ambivalence, where keeping it together also means tearing it down. The voice comes from deep inside the self, honest about the violence of life and the joy of reconnection, and from the “hollow center” that slides into presentable public identities. Readers see the crone inside the young writer; the medicine woman who doctors herself and shows the young people she works with that vulnerability is strength. The Saddle Hurts, Too is about the imperfection of finding home: the place where transformation is possible, where we understand both the necessity and the weight of remembering."

- Suzanne Methot, author of Legacy: Trauma, Story, and Indigenous Healing

Breezy

Breezy is a queer settler/Métis writer, artist and art educator. Breezy holds an M.Ed from the Harvard Graduate School of Education focused on trauma-informed teaching practices. She has worked with creative violence prevention, restorative justice and arts-based enrichment programming in schools. She currently works as an educational consultant, helping others connect, heal, find joy and grow through making.