Python Love weaves together experiences of childhood abuse, birth trauma, and recovery from the perspective of a medical doctor who is also a mother. In this debut collection of visceral originality, Shannon Arntfield delves into the many ways in which the body recalls what has been done to it. The terror and confusion of unexpected flashbacks is felt alongside the grip of labor contractions; a mother, near death during childbirth, shivers uncontrollably. Long, breathtaking sequences set within medical facilities during labour and delivery are juxtaposed with spare, lyrical reflections on ideas of memory, natural spaces, implicit love, and the relationships between parents and children. Full of precise observations and careful renderings, Python Love is focused on how the body and mind are inextricably linked, how the past can overwhelm and inform the present, and how recovery is tied to love and connection.
