Don’t Worry About Me is a lyrical narrative about a girl growing up in a volatile, often violent, sometimes loving, family on the edge of financial and emotional destruction.

The poet tells stories of how her speaker navigates a fractured world, with moments of tenderness between a mother and daughter, juxtaposed with the harsh realities of surviving a household with a father full of desperation and rage.

In M.R. Mandell’s debut chapbook, her poems span the west, from Texas to California, exploring the corners of conservative small towns, to the fantasies, humor, and darkness of Los Angeles, the city she ultimately finds her dreams.