The Awful Grace of God is a raw, unflinching, and darkly luminous collection of poetry by Jhon Z Baker, a physically disabled, schizoaffective bipolar writer from Cook County, Illinois. Through verses steeped in vulnerability, grit, and an often-haunting beauty, Baker invites readers into a world where madness and clarity hold hands over coffee, and survival itself is both an act of grace and defiance.
Written primarily on a typewriter in the quiet corners of his home, Baker's poetry grapples with love, mental illness, family, and identity-with snapshots from late lunches at Bennigan's to sleepless nights against a headboard. These are poems from the margins, written by a man who observes both the ordinary and the abyss with equal intensity.
Dedicated to his wife, son, and a tribe of beloved cats, this collection pulses with pain and devotion in equal measure. The Awful Grace of God is not just poetry-it's a testament to endurance, the strange poetry of being alive, and the sacred mess of it all.