I Make Jokes When I'm Devastated evokes love, grief, hope and longing across generations, continents, and devastation in Ukraine. The author uses humor and popular culture as a way to speak through her sadness. Midwest grocery stores, Tony Soprano, murderous internet moms, Soviet scientists, and the Cheesecake Factory all make an appearance in the constantly shifting landscape of this work. This collection also contends with motherhood and what it means to parent through immense loss. Perhaps more than anything the humor in this book acts as an amplifier, a way to hear laughter as clearly as you can hear weeping.