Fractures: Poems of Breaking by Evelyn Valehart

This poetry collection focussed on trauma, grief/loss and how you can find yourself feeling dealing in the aftermath of life. Some fantastic poems of this collection to me were: A Language Without Sound, about how actions speak more than words can. Between My Ribs and the Rain, a beautiful rhyming poem about where ache remains of pain as it lingers affecting you. The Body Keeps Its Secrets, how when memories in the brain fade, touch can remind you and still trigger you of the past. The Body Remembers Before the Mind, almost descriptive of triggers to trauma your mind can bury to try protect you from feeling. How Silence Cuts, about the pain of losing someone and it being finite. A lot of deeply moving poetry and definitely one of the best I've read relating to trauma and loss.

The Little Book Of Grief by Sadie Green

The book is tiny but mighty the weight of emotions heavy in these short poems showing how grief accompanies you in daily life from items they used daily to one's left in their place awaiting a return never to be, a beautiful collection capturing the way grief lives alongside you after loss.

Define Me Divine Me by Phoebe Garnsworthy

This was a brilliant poetry collection about life in general and all the feelings that make us simply human. Some stand out poems to me were: Boundaries, was a simple poem of how giving is beautiful but when you give always to no return to keep yourself safe with boundaries and respect as a basic to receive. Against, Foolish and Confrontation, were all poems about feeling the relationship and love changing for the worse but falling anyway even if they think you're too much for them. Fencing, about protecting yourself not fighting to feel safe and chosen by another. Fighter, about being you despite people trying to tear you apart and change you. Saviour & Teacher were two poems about feeling broken and realising you are enough as you are. Loneliness, about books being a way to escape from feelings and find comfort and escape when needed. It was a collection that touches deeply on parts of life that can feel heavy from love and loss, to loneliness and never feeling good enough.

The Latter by Maniyah Pulley

This poetry collection focuses on the battle of mental health and feeling like you are trapped in your mind alike a maze, stuck unable to progress or find a way out. The poem, I'm Only Suggesting, I feel any of us with mental or physical health conditions can easily relate to about how others feel they're being helpful when they're not. The epilogue as well served as a powerful conclusion telling of how the mind and thoughts can make you feel and trap you in from the author's perspective and I too related to how depression can cloud your mind and you feel held back from feeling pure joy in things you do like a void is there.

Heartbreak Cocktail by Dominika Stančíková

This poetry collection has many lengthier poems with beautiful rhymes and impactful messages behind each one. A stand out poem to me was, Love Is Kind, a beautiful poem talking how love should be so simple and caring. It was a detailed and honest collection of poetry all about love, honesty, reality in a relationship of it undoing and learning to be ok again in the aftermath of the heartbreak.

Skeleton by Ryan Sam Turner

This poetry collection is so relatable about the struggles of growing up and feeling behind or not enough in life, from pressures to be ok and not feel depressed or finding love and settling down pressures. Pills Pills Pills and Pill Game, were two so well written descriptions how the pills can seemingly have no effect so you take more and more to try feel something at all better despite not feeling they'll make a difference at all. The Heron, about the beauty of their freedom and uncaring at the world around them feeling no pressure like us humans can put on each other. Pure O aka Purely Obsessional, about how your mind can make you feel so low, see yourself so negatively and distorted your mind plays tricks on you. Missed Milestones and Time Only Moves One Way, about feeling life is passing you by without reaching expectations others assume you want to, which can be and also not be the case as everyone has different goals and dreams. So deep into the discussion of mental health, feeling pressure you're not enough in life as your peers seemingly grow up to have kids around you whilst you feel life is on pause for you, the discussion around panic attacks too was utterly relatable as someone who's experienced and lived with them for half my life now, it was great to read someone capture the feeling that seems indescribable when it occurs in such an honest relatable way.

All My Monsters by Honey Holloway

This poetry collection focuses on some dark subjects around how feeling hurt and facing harm from others can effect you and your trust. The Ghost, was a powerful poem of how pain someone causes you can linger even after they've gone. The Thief, about how hands that hurt can make you fear others doing the same. It was quite a short collection easy to read in an evening and sit and reflect or relate to, some beautifully deep poems.

After We Got Disconnected by Devith

This was a beautiful tender collection of poetry how after your beloved moves on you are left reeling in deep emotions and feelings. The poems discuss how the body reacts, how everything feels drained and colourless and you feel broken it was a simple, short collection capturing the affect of a break up effortlessly well.

My Battle With The Enemy by Issa Marie

TW, mentions of sexual assault and Rape. This poetry collection has some deep poems about Issa's life and tough times faced I know many of us will relate to. She Is Breaking, about faking feeling fine when you are inside collapsing. A Mile In Ours, about shared pain how we all cry, we all hurt, we all ache, just in different ways. Daddy's Girl, a poem I found relatabe of feeling the one man supposed to care the most didn't care at all. I love when a book includes a playlist as well to soundtrack the story, wirh the hard topic of rape and sexual assault, the song Grave by Avery Anna for me came to mind as one I'd add to that too. The final part of the book details Issa's story and I'm so glad to hear life has been kinder after such hard and dark times to endure in younger years.

The Weight Of Memory by Ava Winters

This was a tender collection of poetry about the feelings of being left behind and discarded by the one you loved the most. Some stand out poems to me were: Just An Option and The Void They Left, how you can feel broken and doubt everything after they can leave you so easily. Unkept Promises, of being let down by broken promises and chances again and again. Unconscious Betrayal, the ultimate breaking of trust by such a cold act and the repercussions leaving you questioning them as the character in your life story they were. Some really hard hitting poems about betrayal of trust, losing someone you love by them being cruel and cold, how you struggle to cope in the aftermath and how healing in time can still leave doubts. A devastating collection about loss and trust.