SARAH HANSON
"I can't remember the last time I cared so much, and felt so invested in, a new author."
Elizabeth Gilbert, best-selling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic
For the woman quietly wondering if she’s allowed to leave.
Conjuring the Hurricane is a memoir-in-verse about leaving a life that hurts and rebuilding from the storm up.
Also available on Bookshop.com, Barnes & Noble, and Magers & Quinn
• 2026 IPPY OUTSTANDING BOOK OF THE YEAR •
• 2026 INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD: CONTEMPORARY POETRY •
You are Allowed to Leave
Conjuring the Hurricane
A survival memoir-in-verse about leaving a life that’s killing you and rebuilding a self you can finally live inside.
Told in fragments that mirror how trauma lives in the body, this book traces the nonlinear work of reclaiming identity, trust, and agency.
Order now. Then listen to the Soundtack on Spotify
Also available on Bookshop.com, Barnes & Noble, and Magers & Quinn
• Named MS. Magazine's Best Poetry of 2026 •
5 ★ Amazon · 4.8 ★ Goodreads
Reviews for
Conjuring the Hurricane
Join the readers who are already saying yes to this story.
Also available on Bookshop.com, Barnes & Noble, and Magers & Quinn
Elizabeth Gilbert
Best-selling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic
I can't remember the last time I cared so much, and felt so invested in, a new author.
Jennifer Pastiloff
Best-selling author of On Being Human and Proof of Life
Each of Hanson’s words pierce a part of you that you didn’t know needed prodding and leaves you changed; softer. This book will make you feel held. And seen.
Ron Charles
Award-winning book critic, formerly of The Washington Post.
What’s so exhilarating about reading this brave, tender collection straight through is watching [Hanson] attain that healing, that sanctuary, that joy that eluded her for so long.
Kirkus Reviews
The most trusted voice in book reviews since 1933
A stirring collection of poems about love’s destructive powers... Hanson deftly explores the overlapping and often contradictory emotions that can characterize a romantic endeavor.
Foreword Reviews
Reviews of Indie Books Since 1998
A powerful poetry collection… [that] names emotional maelstroms and practices tenderness... Iconoclastic and subversive.
Stephanie Chinn
Best-selling author of Here Sister, Let Me Help You Up
This book is phenomenal, it is going to help and nourish so many people. Such deep resonance on these pages that will leave you feeling seen and held by her words. What a beautiful offering.
Elizabeth Hara
Emmy-award winning writer for Marvel’s Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur and Sesame Street
Reading this will be a walk through hell, then a steep but steady climb into the sunlight. You’re going to feel terrified, stripped bare, then fully seen and wrapped in such love and joy.
Maria Giesbrecht
Author of A Little Feral
Sarah Hanson summons chaos and survival at once, moving by spell and instinct. With precision, fracture, and dark humor, she tells stories that are coming undone even as she writes them. A brilliant debut.
Heidi Barr
Author of Collisions of Earth and Sky
This gem of a book is full of realness and truth, woven together in a way that won't blind you with too much light. Read it, and be astonished at the beauty that is still possible despite everything.
Angela Janda
Author of Small Rooms with Gods
For those who have wondered ‘What if?’-- let Sarah Hanson take you to the Church of How to Change Everything. Hanson's voice is generous and clear. I feel tended-to by this honest and necessary work. An astonishing joy.
Melanie Sue Hicks
Author of Incongruent
Through the chaos of loss and the storm of emotions, this journey transforms into something far more beautiful: a reclamation of self. It’s a story of resilience, finding clarity amidst the debris, and ultimately emerging stronger.
About Sarah
Author, poet, and truth-teller. Sarah Hanson writes hard truths beautifully, offering stories of survival, resilience, and hope. Her memoir-in-verse, Conjuring the Hurricane, is the recipient of the 2026 IPPY Outstanding Book of the Year and winner of the 2026 International Book Award for Contemporary Poetry.
If this feels like your story, you don’t have to wait to begin it.
Also available on Bookshop.com, Barnes & Noble, and Magers & Quinn
Read select poems from the book.
Read the rest in Conjuring the Hurricane.
Also available on Bookshop.com, Barnes & Noble, and Magers & Quinn
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If you’ve been reading along, this is where it all comes together.
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