Star of I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà Vu, 4/20 Massacre, and The 6th Friend announces her haunting debut poetry collection, arriving November 10.
Award-winning actress and filmmaker Jamie Bernadette, known for her extensive work in horror cinema, is stepping into a deeply personal new chapter with the release of her debut poetry collection, Two Inches from Suicide, arriving November 10, 2026.
With more than 100 film and television credits, including approximately 40 horror films, Bernadette has spent years bringing complex characters to life on screen. Now, she turns her attention to the written word, sharing a collection of poetry that explores abuse, depression, addiction, death, the afterlife, suicide, relationships, and her experiences navigating a career in Hollywood.
Bernadette played the lead role in I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà Vu, directed by Meir Zarchi, who also wrote and directed the original 1978 horror classic I Spit on Your Grave. Bernadette starred opposite Camille Keaton, who played the lead in the original 1978 film and portrayed Bernadette’s character’s mother in Déjà Vu. Bernadette also starred in the horror film 4/20 Massacre, which aired on Showtime, and The 6th Friend, for which she received Best Actress awards at the Freakshow Horror Film Festival and RIP Film Festival.
Her television credits include CBS’s NCIS: New Orleans, NBC’s Chicago Fire and Midnight, Texas, and 14 Lifetime TV movies. Her additional film credits include Lionsgate’s She Rides Shotgun, starring Taron Egerton, and a lead role in The Furnace, directed by Oscar-nominated director Darrell Roodt.
Born and raised in Kankakee, Illinois, as the youngest of nine children, Bernadette began writing at just six years old. What started as a childhood creative outlet became a lifelong passion, eventually leading to the deeply personal work collected in Two Inches from Suicide.
“Reading and writing poetry have always been important parts of my life,” says Bernadette. “Poetry has a way of reaching people on a deeply personal level, especially during difficult times. I believe it’s important to share our creative work because we never know who it might touch, inspire, or help. My hope is that readers will find something in these poems that resonates with their own experiences.”
The following is an excerpt from Bernadette’s poem “A Marriage”:
We’ll soon be a grave-couple. Our coffins neatly situated side by side— Tidy as books on a shelf but not quite as trustworthy. Dress me in my withered wedding gown
And lipstick my lips— Red as blood— The pain blotted out. String my ring and wrap it around my neck— Choking— Even in death we shall not unstick.
Now we barely live each day, Struggling to make it through. The rock-tock ticking of our porch swing Creaks from the bed of our sunken porch. I’ll sew and you’ll stare blankly at cold cars passing, Wringing and unwringing the wrinkles of your hands While I press the lips of my collapsed mouth together— Both of us trying to figure out a way into some heaven.
BOOK AVAILABILITY
Two Inches from Suicide, an 82-page paperback collection featuring 29 poems, will be released November 10, 2026. Paperback, hardcover, and eBook editions will be available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble, with additional eBook availability through Apple Books and Kobo and print editions through other major booksellers.
The Kindle edition is currently available for preorder on Amazon:
ABOUT JAMIE BERNADETTE
Jamie Bernadette is an award-winning actress, filmmaker, and author with more than 100 film and television credits, including approximately 40 horror films. She is known for her leading role in I Spit on Your Grave: Déjà Vu, as well as her performances in 4/20 Massacre and The 6th Friend, along with appearances in Chicago Fire, NCIS: New Orleans, and numerous other productions.
Two Inches from Suicide marks her debut as a published poetry author, bringing a lifelong passion for writing to readers for the first time in book form.
Instagram: @jamiebernadette
