Messy Memories

Grief does not possess shape or form. It is different for each of us and affects us all in ways that others often find hard to fathom and understand. And yet our grief is not unique either. Each of us is likely to experience the searing pain of it in our lives, whether it is from the death of a loved one, a cherished pet or the loss of a relationship and it is how we deal with it that defines us and helps us to carry on. 

Messy Memories (Memorias Desordenadas) is a collection of poems by Venezuelan author Andrea Fernández, all written in both English and Spanish, examining the grief she experienced following the death of her beloved grandfather.

His death, while she lived in the United States and unable to go back home during the pandemic, created her own unique sense of loss and was forced to find a way to come to terms with it that many do not.

Comprising five chapters, each one of the five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste and touch to describe her feelings at the time, she shows how they grounded her and helped her cope through the healing process – prompting memories and communicating emotions through them that we are otherwise incapable of understanding.

Andrea Fernández grew up in the city of Maracaibo, Venezuela and attained an MFA in Creative Writing in the United States.

Messy Memories, a collection of poems written in both English and Spanish, is her first book and literary debut in the United States.

Today, Andrea lives in Brooklyn, New York. In her free time she loves cooking, discovering new places and eating out, sharing food with friends, photography, painting, collecting Venezuelan art and visiting museums. She has recently discovered and embraced an enjoyment of open mic and reading gigs. Andrea's hope is to follow the path of many other writers that came before her and make her own space within the industry by writing in both Spanish and English.

She is currently writing a fictional account of the lives of Latinx immigrants, especially women who come to the U.S. in the hope of having a better life, throwing light on the social, political and economic disparities they face, both in the U.S. and in their own countries.