Icarus, Anchors & You

By J. L. Fizzell

This collection begins where life unraveled and rebuilt itself in equal measure.
At its heart lies a tender love stretched to its limits: a relationship in recovery, a near-fatal car crash, and the heavy aftermath of choosing survival over certainty. As homes were left behind and bodies were repaired with steel, the emotional toll rippled outward. Amid the upheaval came unexpected connection-an old face returning at exactly the wrong or right moment-pulling the poet into a whirlwind of adventure, friendship, chaos, and strange, fragile bliss.

Caught between soaring hope and the danger of falling, the poet refuses the fate of Icarus. Instead of burning in the heat of turmoil, she learns to navigate it-choosing balance over recklessness, courage over collapse, and light she can carry rather than flames that consume.

These poems capture both the soaring highs and shattering lows of a life in flux. Each piece serves as a marker of resilience, a way to return to strength on days it feels out of reach. Told out of order, the collection mirrors the truth of lived experience: nothing unfolds neatly, and clarity often comes only after we piece the fragments together.

This is J.L. Fizzell's first poetry anthology, born from a series of events that reshaped more than one life. Themes of love, loss, identity, mental health, trauma, and self-discovery pulse through its pages. Originally published in 2018, it stands alongside two companion anthologies released the same year, forming the beginning of a journey told in poetry rather than chronology.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1983946508
• ISBN13: 9781983946509
• Release Date: February 2018
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 150 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"