What do we inherit from the people who raised us, the ones who left us, and the ones whose love continues to hold us long after they are gone?

In The Gravity We Inherit, Erick J. Fettingis returns to the rooms, roads, wounds, and relationships that shaped his life. Written as a series of deeply personal letters to his grandmother, this intimate memoir explores family, abandonment, addiction, survival, fatherhood, friendship, regret, forgiveness, and the quiet forces that keep us from drifting away.

Each chapter pairs reflection with an original poem, revealing not only what happened, but what those experiences eventually became. The poems are the emotional echoes of a life spent writing privately, carrying truths that were not always ready to be spoken aloud.

This is not a story about escaping the past. It is about facing it honestly, accepting the harm we inherited and the harm we caused, and deciding what deserves to be carried forward.

Tender, unfiltered, and sometimes painfully candid, The Gravity We Inherit is for anyone who has ever wondered whether the past must have the final word.

Inside, readers will also receive exclusive access to complimentary musical interpretations of the book’s thirteen featured poems, allowing the words they have read on the page to continue their journey in song.

Some people give us roots.
Some leave us weight.
A rare few give our little universe its gravity.