I'm Fine, but Thanks for Asking

Poetry February 2012 ISBN 978-1-936628-08-7 76 pages Softcover, 6" x 9"

In I'm Fine, but Thanks for Asking, Jude Lally is "still mad as hell" and "ready for the hurt." Illuminating the mundane things in life like going to the bathroom, hopping boulders while hiking, or simply being able to jump out of bed, we are reminded of what is often taken for granted. These poems confess the dreams and demons as well as the daily joys and struggles of a writer facing a rare disease and an uncertain fate. In them, we find him living for today, fully and honestly, with a refreshing sense of humor that offers light and hope amid the darkness. He stares his condition in the face, laughs and escapes into his imagination, determined "not to dry up/and blow away." This collection signals Jude Lally is here to stay, a hardy perennial, a poet that continues to bloom.—Eric Scott Sutherland

humor

From the Book

Three-Legged Dog

Your bark is fierce

When someone knocks on the door
they may feel scared
and think BEWARE OF DOG

You sound so tough
and menacing
with your foul howl
and gruff ruff

Then as you
hobble to the door
to greet them
you lick their outstretched hand;
they're relieved to see
most likely they could
outrun your beastly bravado

Three-legged dog— you prove no impairment prevents one's voice from causing an uproar

What Others Say

With his new book, I'm fine, but Thanks for Asking poet Jude Lally proves that "no impairment prevents one's voice from causing an uproar." Whether confrontational—addressing "single-serving friends," introspective—connecting to parents and loved ones, or quiet meditations on loss and longing, these poems touch the reader in a profound way. Jude Lally's new collection tells heartbreaking stories with wry humor and unflinching honesty with a voice that deserves to be heard.

— Richard Taylor

In I'm Fine, but Thanks for Asking, Jude Lally is "still mad as hell" and "ready for the hurt." Illuminating the mundane things in life like going to the bathroom, hopping boulders while hiking, or simply being able to jump out of bed, we are reminded of what is often taken for granted. These poems confess the dreams and demons as well as the daily joys and struggles of a writer facing a rare disease and an uncertain fate. In them, we find him living for today, fully and honestly, with a refreshing sense of humor that offers light and hope amid the darkness. He stares his condition in the face, laughs and escapes into his imagination, determined "not to dry up/and blow away." This collection signals Jude Lally is here to stay, a hardy perennial, a poet that continues to bloom.

— Eric Scott Sutherland

About the Author

Jude Lally

Determination has always been Jude Lally's middle name. Whether on the Little League baseball field in elementary school, on the football gridiron in middle school or on the wrestling mat in high school, he always gave it his all. But halfway through high school, at the age of 16, Jude was handed his biggest challenge of all when he was diagnosed with a rare genetic degenerative progressive neuromuscular disease called Friedreich's Ataxia. Daily living as he had known it changed forever. There were new obstacles to overcome, and overcome he did, as two years later he became a proud high school graduate. But he didn't stop there. Five years later he also became a college graduate when he received a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Kentucky. But as reality set in and the likelihood of landing a job seemed out of reach, Jude turned to his love of writing to help him cope. While talking about his struggles didn't come easy for him, writing about them did. He cultivated that need to write by joining a writers' group that met weekly in Lexington, Kentucky. That's where he met his future publisher Katerina Stoykova of Accents Publishing. In With the Old Out With the New is Jude's third collection of poems published by Accents Publishing. As in The View From Down Here, published in 2010, and I'm Fine But Thanks for Asking, published in 2012, Jude's unique way with words, combined with a sprinkling of Irish wit passed down from his late father, will have you both laughing and crying at the same time if you're not careful! One of Jude's favorite sayings is "The last person you want to be is no one." Being able to share his thoughts and words not only makes him feel like someone but is also a way to shine the light on disabilities and those living with them every day. Jude currently lives with his Mom and Stepdad near Nashville, Tennessee.