sometimes i go away

by Steven Callahan, Matt Smythe (Editor)

149 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2025

About the author

Steven Callahan is an American author, naval architect, inventor, and sailor most notable for having survived for 76 days adrift on the Atlantic Ocean in a survival raft. Callahan recounted his ordeal in the best-selling book "Adrift: 76 days lost at sea", which was on the New York Times best-seller list for more than thirty-six weeks.
-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Stan Lake · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Sometimes I Go Away” is the debut poetry collection from Steven Callahan published by Dead Reckoning Collective. These poems hit close to home for me as many of the themes not only resonate with me deeply but feel damn near like I wrote them, only way better. The poems wrestle with the inadequacy of service in a reserve component and not feeling you measure up to the “real” service members who were full time. Callahan wrestles with going to war to do a job but being unable to scratch the itch and fully test himself. The poems deal with post traumatic stress as well as post traumatic growth. Doubt, faith, service, and healing all find places on the pages in this book. That’s a really long, weird way to say this is a damn good book and in many ways I’m jealous it’s so well done. Go check this out, I highly recommend it.

[Nicholas E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are few poetry collections that force me to stop reading and step away. Callahan has done this. His imagery, structure, and word usage is powerful, forcing the reader to reflect on past emotions and events they might not wish to dwell upon, but should for their own emotional benefit.

[Patrick Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book surprised me in ways I didn't expect. sometimes i go away never bothers to make anything look nice. It's honest, to the point, and it doesn't shy away from labeling things with what they are. Callahan understands what it's like to walk between worlds, being military and civilian and never really belonging in either.

Boys' was the first to actually touch down. It's a salute to those who served, to those who didn't come home, and those who came back with injuries that can't be seen. Poems like "headspace and timing" and "post traumatic growth" are harshly honest about the truth of returning and trying to rewire your brain to function in the everyday.

There’s grit and grief in these pages, but there’s also resilience. It doesn’t feel like poetry trying to impress anyone. It feels like a lifeline.

If you’ve served, known someone who has, or are just trying to make sense of the pieces after something breaks, this book speaks plainly and truthfully to that. Highly recommend.