Tyler Gaca, who has attracted millions of followers online as Ghosthoney, celebrates self-discovery in Gentle Chaos, an ethereal collection of revelatory essays, expressive poems, and stunning artwork. "I've always been a sensitive child," Gaca, now 27, reveals. This fragility resonates within the tiny moments recalled from his childhood: searching under grocery store shelves for something magical, crying on his 10th birthday about growing old, becoming petrified by ghost hunters on television. "I was caught in this push and pull of being both fascinated and terrorized by horror." The macabre won, death and the unknown spurring Gaca into an adulthood marked by magic.
The pressed flowers, disembodied teeth, and snapshots of strangers immortalized in this collection carry a paranormal whimsy, as do his vulnerable musings: "I want to know how it feels to be a plant photosynthesizing" and "In a past life/ I was a garden snake./ That glowed/ like a violent beacon." He talks openly of being late to accept his queer identity yet always wanting love; of losing his artistic drive and the spark that brought it back; of early days with his husband, JiaHao. Stories behind several of his TikTok characters reveal how his "imagination run[s] rampant" to produce off-putting and gently mysterious creations. Threading together the tenderly meandering pieces--a painting of a Moon Pie; a full spread of his shorn hair; a handwritten recipe for raw apple cake from his great-grandmother; a "guide to dressing like a love-stricken Victorian dandy"--is a patient joy and willingness to dream. Gentle Chaos is sure to inspire reflection and cultivate an adventurous spirit in readers. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer