Memos to My Mother’s Illness is the first full-length book of poetry by up-and-coming poet Rosalind Rousseau. In her debut book of poetry, which also serves as childhood memoir, Rousseau reflects on the struggles of growing up with a mentally ill parent, the strong yet fractured bond between her and her mother, and the highs and lows of her own mental health as a result. Tender and sharp, meditative yet grounded in everyday moments, her poetry is both a bold confession and a whispered conversation in which she speaks to her mother, to her mother’s illness, and to the reader. Though Rousseau’s experiences deal specifically with depression, paranoid schizophrenia, eating disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, her journey should resonate with anyone who has dealt with the effects of a loved one’s mental or chronic illness.