The Art Of Loving Yourself by Nana Juste

This poetry collection is set into three parts: Healing, Boundaries and acceptance/integration telling a poetic story of healing through to accepting how life was and now is and all endured along the way to alter your feelings. From shrinking to fit in, having boundaries, to respect yourself first before serving up time to people who would use or waste it unappreciatively and how you flourish through learning, growing into the adult your child self once needed, craving the necessary love to feel able to flourish. A lot of the poems talk about how being present for yourself isn't loneliness but healing and solitude to learn to be comfortable alone, a necessity when you will always have yourself in this life. The book absolutely owned it's title and clearly maps a way to approach your own self reflections on life as you grow, progress and reflect on everything you've experienced and find yourself relating to multiple poems in this collection.

Mama Poems by Melody Li

This poetry collection was as the title says, poems by a mama about her experience becoming a mum and embracing all it entails. A couple of stand out poems to me were: Seeds And Fruit, about the sizing and changing baby growing in fun comparisons to foods. We All Just Need To Sleep, was a tender look into life trying to adapt and sleep with a new one, in a comfortable way for all and no judgement to achive said rest much needed! These poems are so precious capturing the delight and pain in pregnancy and the joy and bliss as well as testing times in raising baby too.

After You Notice by OCTAVIA OCTAVIANO

This poetry collection focuses on all the ways of fulfilling your heart and doing want you need to or want to do versus making someone else happy, even if it is work, you need to fulfil your own desire, doing it despite maybe failing ahead but pleasing yourself first.

Every Constellation by Shannon Sonnenberg-Pietila

This poetry collection focuses on the first experience of love and a relationship that shapes you and your idea of love, lust and most importantly trust. Perfectly capturing the highs and lows of young desire and love that felt endless until doubts in trust make cracks and a split occurs.

On This Beautiful Day by Genevieve Luke

This poetry collection reads as if for a wedding, each one usable as speeches but is also just a beautiful collection of poetic words of how love can make you feel and appreciate. Some stand out poems to me were: Evergreen, was a beautiful poem to celebrate how life and love can be like the seasons renewing. Twenty Questions, was a great poem and engaging for people to get involved with. THE ALPHABET OF LOVE, was an incredibly simple poetic look at making the alphabet for a couple in love a set of rules to live by styled A-Z. The collection is full of stunning poetic imagery from seasons to daily life feelings, finding beauty in the every day mundane feeling more spectacular in love and with your beloved. A brilliant collection to spark inspiration from for poetry or indeed, a wedding speech!

This Book Has No Ending by Shannon Sonnenberg-Pietila

This was a beautiful collection of poetry in which each poem serves up hope and realization on reflection about life and love especially self love and putting first yourself always to be truly happy.

Secrets Make You Sick by Sarah Erin

This poetry collection was a raw and unfiltered look into life coping with mental health, bipolar and the effects in life and all the ups and downs it brings. Some stand out poems to me of this collection, focussed on pregnancy loss especially from an unexpected pregnancy and the pain of the sudden experience. There was also a lot of poems about the effects of bipolar and how being misunderstood by others can leave you feeling so sad and worse as your condition can be viewed so negatively by others unwilling to take time to educate themselves.

The Graveyard Of My Mind by Matilda Reed

This poetry collection focuses on the depths of the minds most buried moments and feelings with a fabulous title to sum it up nicely. Some stand out poems to me were: Show Vs Tell, about showing love over voicing it with words. Taking, about someone you love only taking your light and only giving darkness back. Under Educated, was an incredible poem of how reading words versus reading the one you love is so different. Powerful Pens, about reclaiming your voice and power over past pain with words and ink, hence the power of the pen. The Giver/Self Care, about how being the giver drains you so much to finally put yourself first. It was a brilliant collection of thoughts through life captured and spilled as poetry alike laying down life to rest and reset your mind as much as possible.

Don't Let Your Figs Rot by Nana Juste

This poetry collection focuses on figs as a metaphor in various ways gor all the chances available to pick from in life. The Tree Was Heavy, about the branches life gives you some heavy, some light and joyful but overall can make you overthink the choices. All The Lives I Didn't Live and lots of poems especially in the final few poems of the book talk openly and honestly of the pain of choices made and the ones never taken that linger in their own form of grief. It was a beautiful collection of poetry to sit with and read in one go and the fig metaphor was brilliantly executed throughout the collection.

In The Sky by Irene R

This short poetry collection captures the feelings of raw grief the impact and the aftermath of such a terrible situation and if you've experienced grief, specifically child loss, this will really resonate with you in how you feel changed from how life was before and expected to be hopes distorted and altered forever until you slowly over time heal into a new version of you.