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We Left Constellations in Each Other (Kelsay Books, Summer 2025) is a luminous and unflinching exploration of birth, loss, and survival. In this full-length poetry collection, Whitnee Coy maps the raw and shifting terrain of motherhood—creation and survival, expectation and grief—through a deeply personal lens. At its core, this collection is shaped by the near-death experience of childbirth, a premature birth at the edge of viability, and the long, breath-holding nights of the NICU.
Coy’s poems navigate the stark intersections of death and reinvention, of trauma and transformation, as she mines the landscape of her own body and spirit for meaning. Through visceral, intimate language, she bridges the weight of generational inheritance with the tender uncertainty of the future. These poems, at once jagged and tender, illuminate the fragile, urgent question at the heart of existence: What does it mean to be classified as alive?
Praise for We Left Constellations in Each Other
"In this well-written collection of poetry, We Left Constellations in Each Other, Whitnee Coy takes us through a personal near tragedy. Her pregnancy develops complications, leaving her two-pound baby teetering on the edge of death’s abyss for a frightening length of time. Her tiny infant comes through with a wonderment of miracles that demonstrates an innate fight for survival. This story is a raw, jagged-edged and honest celebration of the human spirit. Coy dedicates her book to family, friends and '…to all those who’ve walked through the night with a NICU baby—who have held their breath, held tiny hands, and held hope close. This is for the brave hearts who choose to continue.'”
— Bruce Roseland, Poet Laureate of South Dakota
"We Left Constellations in Each Other recognizes the desire for healing—the body, the spirit, the family, and the communities that circulate when new life touches down on this world. Whitnee Coy mines herself as the landscape with stark intersections of death and reinvention in the midst of postpartum recovery. Coy’s poems triangulate the trajectories of arrival within the context of the harsh exterior world. In these poems, true north is revealed as the poet’s personal and most intimate interiorities. Whitnee Coy maps the raw terrain of motherhood—creation and survival, expectation and grief—while guiding us through the inexactitudes of existence. From the visceral details of birth trauma to the floaty world of post-labor, these poems investigate the singular while echoing with plurality. With a voice both intimate and expansive, Coy bridges family inheritance with future’s promise, illuminating the fragile, urgent question at the core of our being: What does it mean to be classified as alive?"
— Katelin Kelly, Poet & Educator