"Caballero’s A Petit Mal is a brilliant genre-defying work in which the poetic and the scientific merge and construct each other. Its ingenious use of language and imagery convey deep philosophical and spiritual questions. A book to read and reread." - Richard Blanco, U.S. Presidential Inaugural Poet

"I can't tell you what A Petit Mal is about exactly. Motherhood, illness, spirituality – yes. Suffering, healing, consciousness itself… I want to say, "If you love Jenny Boully's work and Eula Biss' work and Brenda Miller's work, you'll love Ana Maria Caballero's work" – and you will! – but then I'd hasten to add, "You've never read anything quite like this before", A Petit Mal is lyric essay-qua-memoir-qua-illness narrative-qua-poetic meditation-qua-new genres in the making. Above all, this is a rapturous, innovative, and wholly sui generis project." - Julie Marie Wade, author of Wishbone: A Memoir in Fractures and Just an Ordinary Woman Breathing.

"It’s fragmented, poetic, includes sketches, pictures, DMs, medical records, and oscillates between prose, science, literature, math, and prayer. And it is a cohesive and coherent, beautifully crafted work." -  Amy Goldmacher

"Every event, no matter how painful or challenging it can be, gives us an opportunity to learn, helps us see things in a different way and eventually transforms us. The experiences, anecdotes and stories depicted in A Petit Mal did all that for me. They made me laugh, cry and think, but most important, they gave me hope. Ana María’s use of language, interior monologues and her fantastic poetic prose make A Petit Mal a must read for everyone who enjoys good literature." - Dr. Camilo Cruz, best Selling author and public speaker