• Age: 16 to 18
• Grade: 11 to 12

The Saddle Hurts, Too is an excavation through the grit and grime of guilt and shame that seeps in from personal and intergenerational histories. Navigating the rugged and wild terrain of worlds both inside and outside of us, past and present, this collection defines new ways of understanding, relating and belonging. It invokes intimacy—with self, with nature, and with others—challenging us to reconsider our responsibility to ourselves, to nature, and to one another. A hybrid text of essays and poetry, this collection explores the edges and moods of what stands in the way of belonging and what hides beneath anger and shame. It pokes at the darkness, watches it ooze glitter. 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, belonging, safety and healing. In effect, Breezy reveals an experiment in thinking that attempts to break free from isolation and bind one unconditionally to unions of ritual and kinship.

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Breezy is a queer Métis/settler 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.