BLOOM is an illustrated book of poetry with origins in the author's experience of cancer diagnosis and treatment. All proceeds from the sale of the book go to support rare cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Jay had studied poetry in college and written off and on when he was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer in 2013. As part of coping with the diagnosis and treatment he began to write more regularly in order to understand and process the experience. He maintained a blog to keep friends and family informed and would occasionally post poems because they often seemed able to communicate what prose could not. He was encouraged to write more and joined Sloan Kettering's Visible Ink program through which he was mentored by poet Mary Tautin Moloney. Jay is a musician, producer, entrepreneur, beekeeper, carpenter, wanderer and gardener. He lives in Pawling, NY with his wife, daughter, chickens, dog, bees and cat. | BLOOM by Jay Erickson, Paperback | Indigo Chapters