In Trust the Damage, her deeply intimate debut poetry collection, Trudie Gorman explores the connection between class, poverty, and illness. Journeying from a council estate in the 90s to the fractured ecosystem of the present day, she contends with the grief of losing her body to illness, whilst also finding hope and connection.

The body in all of its morphisms is the main character here, while memory, legacy, violence against women, healthcare, working-class culture and love ripple through the collection in vibrant coexistence. The poems are at once visceral and unflinching in their depictions, yet always stretch towards the light, capturing what it means for a life to bloom in the dark.

“Original, arresting and brave, Trudie Gorman’s debut collection, Trust the Damage, is a deft and uncompromising exploration of chronic illness, trauma, urbanity, class, and how these elements combine to profoundly impact the relationship with the self. Gorman’s is an urgent, fresh and essential new voice in Irish poetry.”
—Victoria Kennefick

“In this startling collection Trudie Gorman dares the reader to look at the sicknesses that riddle society, the ones we refuse to acknowledge. These are poems of violence and tenderness, of love and fear, of fury and survival.”
—Alice Kinsella