At 21-years-old, Michelle Garcia independently published her first book. Cul-de-sac Angels is a collection of poetry, memoir work, and creative nonfiction that was shaped by her upbringing in suburban Lake Ridge, VA and fueled by her love of nostalgia. Since its publication in April of this year, the book reached Amazon’s Top 100 Bestsellers List for Poetry by Women. 

“I wrote Cul-de-sac Angels about my coming of age experiences,” Michelle, a recent graduate of Virginia Tech, says about her book. “I think that this place in particular [Lake Ridge, VA] really shaped my identity […] growing up as an Asian American girl in the suburbs.” 

Michelle’s interest in poetry began during middle school, but it was at the Center for the Fine and Performing Arts at Woodbridge Senior High School that she became serious about pursuing creative writing. In that program–which has since been moved to Colgan High School–she discovered the joy of being in a community with other people that shared her passion for writing. 

As an undergraduate, Michelle continued writing. “My writing changed a lot,” Michelle says about her transition from Lake Ridge to Blacksburg where she attended college. “It changed […] the entire style of my writing because I got to be around new people.” A part of that transition, Michelle notes, was adjusting to attending a predominantly white institution and being pulled away from the significant Asian American community in the Woodbridge area. However, college became an opportunity for her to take pride in her traditions and culture. 

Cul-de-sac Angels spans years of Michelle’s work. In January of 2020, she began writing a poem everyday and over time, accumulated enough writing to put the book together. The different sections that divide the book follow phases of Michelle’s life in chronological order. From girlhood to grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic and everything in between, very little goes untold in Cul-de-sac Angels. 

You can purchase a copy of Cul-de-sac Angels on Amazon. You can also view Michelle Garcia’s portfolio here.