• Named a Book for the Teen Age by the New York Public Library
This is a memoir that is lived in moments. The moments you know – when you see your parents’ marriage dissolving, when you realize you’re a boy who likes boys, when you speak the truth and don’t know if it will be heard. The moments you don’t recognize until later – when you leave things unsaid (even to yourself), when you feel your boyfriend letting go, when you give up on love. And the moment you get love back.
Praise for Talking in the Dark (PUSH / Scholastic, 2003):
“An affecting memoir told in verse, this work launches a promising young poet…, [Merrell”s] sophisticated verse and compelling story will capture attention as it stirs compassion.” —School Library Journal
Sample Poems:
Canon
Folding Sheets
Memorial
3 1/2 Love Sonnets
Give It Wings
Shhh
Read additional sample poems “Before,” “Histories,” “Heaven,” and “To the Living” at the PUSH website.