The Hurting

Description

richard cortez’ sophomore literary effort, the hurting, unapologetically exposes the longtime songwriter’s struggles with childhood trauma and mental illness. the 36 poems, described by mental health counselor ernie cote in the book’s forward as “one of the most raw and naked retellings of trauma that i’ve ever seen outside of a therapy session,” are paired with the dark and emotionally dangerous illustrations of michael j hildebrand.

with a brooding portrait of cortez in his youth surrounded by ghoulish demons for its cover, this jarring book spares no comfort in its brutal recollection of growing up the son of what any child would perceive to be as two monsters. drawing painful lines between his past and how it impacts the present, cortez unpacks interpersonal relationships, sex, physical abuse, abandonment, mental illness, and molestation with refined rawness and bravery.