A review by betweenbookends
Constellations: Reflections From Life by Sinéad Gleeson

4.0

Sinéad Gleeson’s Constellation, Reflections from Life is a profoundly moving, lyrical nuanced look at the intersection of the human body, mortality, motherhood, mysticism, feminism and art. While it’s been presented as an essay collection, it works incredibly well as a cohesive whole even if the topics it tackles are varied. The collection opens with experiences drawn from Gleeson’s own life. She has a very complicated medical history with a rare bone condition that led to multiple invasive surgeries in her life from when she was very young. And so, she’s all the more aware of her body as this battered vessel that she tenderly and lovingly cares for. The challenging pregnancies that she faces with a warrior’s fortitude, the need and sheer will to pull her body through is incredibly heartfelt and moving. In later essays, she speaks of women in the past who have gone seeking adventure in a male-dominated world, of women who’ve resorted to art as a medium to describe the pain they’re going through, of women who’ve challenged norms, redefined roles that have made today’s society more equal for men and women.

The essays are so nimbly written. There’s almost this balletic grace to her writing, that is so fluid, so seamless and poetic. This book reminded me of another title I had read earlier this year, The Shapeless Unease by Samatha Harvey where she muses on various topics through a year of chronic insomnia. I think Constellations is a tad more readable and so it’s probably the one I’d recommend more easily, but Harvey’s The Shapeless Unease spoke to me personally and more deeply. Nonetheless, if you’ve been on the fence about this one or thought it might be a tad pretentious. It really isn’t. It’s clear-eyed, resonant, powerful and demands to be read.

4.25/5