Stinking Up Heaven

Stinking Up Heaven is a funny, heartfelt poetry collection about a deeply loved dog and the grief that followed her death. When Deakin - a scrappy, loyal chihuahua-mix with a lot of opinions - is diagnosed with advanced lymphoma, life rearranges itself into a before and after. These poems trace that shift: from couch cuddles and long walks, to vet visits, ghost conversations, and crying in public (often while holding a half-eaten breakfast sandwich).

With shades of Mary Oliver, Frank O'Hara, and Jack Gilbert, this is a chapbook that balances devotion with absurdity, mourning with memory, and sincerity with humor. It's about dogs, yes - but also friendship, identity, and the deep weirdness of being a person after losing your very best friend.

A soft, strange, and quietly fierce little book for anyone who's ever lost a dog and wanted the world to stop for a minute.