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In this intimate collection of poetry, spells are cast, hearts are broken, and prayers go unanswered.
Sad Sexy Catholic follows the journey of a young twenty-something as she navigates the already difficult task of existing made even harder by trauma, body dysmorphia, a personality disorder, and leftover guilt from a religious upbringing. The speaker in these poems strives to find softness, even in the darkest of moments.
"Sad Sexy Catholic is the girl at the rock show, the one who exudes effortless cool in vintage leather and ripped tights. But when you turn to talk to her, she’s gone. In this haunting collection, Lauren Badillo Milici offers anthems for the heartbreakers as well as the heartbroken. This is a catalogue of precautionary tales and premonitions that stretches from abject darkness to 'the pink light of dawn.' Unflinchingly, the speaker walks us through lonely halls with 'an emptiness like winter.' A hereditary witch, she's jaded enough to tell the hardest truths but tender enough to call out to us: 'if you’re going to scream, scream with me.' Step inside, lost girls. You’re home." —Rita Mookerjee, author of False Offering
"In Sad Sexy Catholic, Lauren Badillo Milici gives us a leading lady with a storyline of multiple twists, turns, and most importantly, reclamations. The camera is focused on her, and she twists its patriarchal lens with a feminism that questions what is truly holy. This collection purrs, then takes its claws out. She gives us pure tenderness, and Dear, she guards that with her heart. Milici's speaker is all diamond—they’re the femme fatale who writes their own ending to the story—it’s everlasting, like a tattoo of lip prints." —Dorothy Chan, author of Babe and Attack of the Fifty-Foot Centerfold