How to Live: A Suggestive Guide

Poetry. This collection of almost 20 experimental poems acts as an alternative How-To Book, told with graphic flow charts and coupled with poetic language and philosophy. Both insightful and formally inventive, the pieces offer the readers a sense of agency as they choose their own way through complex activities such as "How to Name Something," "How to Use a Power Tool," and "How to Have a Great Idea." Several of the pieces were written specifically in response to Hellstern's experience building a shipping container house off-grid on 44 acres in the New Mexico high mountain desert, her struggle making new friends, dealing with adult issues like family, loss and trying to save the world. One flow chart speaks about how to make a difficult phone call while another addresses loving your mother. With comedy and truth, HOW TO LIVE: A SUGGESTIVE GUIDE draws a parallel between handling the solid, 3-dimensional physical world while navigating the complicated and modern emotional world. Throughout these experimental poems, Hellstern provides a personal, yet universal journey that the reader can choose to walk alongside her.