Mathematician
of Survival
Poems
I learned
the mathematics
of one more breath—
the seconds
between footsteps,
the space
beneath a locked door,
the distance
between fear
and morning.
Poems
I learned
the mathematics
of one more breath—
the seconds
between footsteps,
the space
beneath a locked door,
the distance
between fear
and morning.
The book
Mathematician of Survival is a collection about what happens when survival becomes more than staying alive.
These poems ask what we inherit, what we repeat, what we carry, what we refuse—and what we choose in the difficult work of becoming whole.
Twelve poems, in seven movements.
How this book began
This book began with a conversation.
I was carrying a life I had learned to navigate but not yet understand. I remember saying:
I survived, but I still feel trapped.
The person on the other side told me he was a mathematics teacher. I did not know then that a simple conversation would become a five-year friendship—or that mathematics would become a language through which I could understand survival.
What does it take to survive one more day? What is the distance between fear and freedom? How do you carry what happened without allowing it to become all that you are? And when survival is no longer enough, how do you begin to build a life?These poems grew from those questions.
Anchal Jain
If these poems stay with you, pass the book on to someone who needs it.
If you would like a copy of your own, it comes in three forms.
$7
On a Kindle, phone or tablet, with the stanza breaks and spacing of the printed page.
On Amazon Kindle$12
120 pages on cream paper, 5.5 × 8.5 inches. Small enough to give, made to be read slowly.
On Amazon$20
The paperback, with a recording of the poems to listen to when reading isn’t possible.
Write to us for this oneSome of these poems speak of abuse, trauma and grief. Please read gently, and pause whenever you need to.
About the poet
Anchal Jain is an independent advocate, strategic systems thinker, and researcher whose work explores criminal justice, public safety, human dignity, and the systems that shape how people survive and rebuild.
Having experienced profound extremes of joy and sorrow, she has built her life around sustainability, curiosity, and the pursuit of balance. A traveler and lifelong observer, she is drawn to places, people, and questions that challenge what we think we know.
Her thinking is grounded in the belief that the impulse to control can arise from fear, but that we can choose a different way forward—one rooted in shared power, co-creation, accountability, and collective consciousness.
Above all, she believes in the power of choice and in the dignity and respect owed to every living being.
Selected and edited by Sundar Rama Raju Sagiraju.