In Mad Habits of a Life, Julie Chappell shows the power of poetry to tell a story, deconstruct cultural notions, and leave readers in awe. These poems chronicle the life of a woman who has experienced much as a child growing up in Kansas, a rebellious adolescent in the 1960's, a literature professor pondering life and its great mysteries, a cancer survivor, and always, as a woman wholly in love with life and all its madness. Sometimes reveling in nature's terrible beauty, sometimes reminiscing about the past with a mixture of nostalgia and stark realism, Chappell unflinchingly aims for the truth. These accessible, crafted, and curious poems will appeal to readers who have struggled, loved, lost, and triumphed.