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breathwords's review
5.0
There are few times I will use the word “speechless.” My friends know that I rarely find myself that way. But, Silent Squall stole my breath as well as my words. In Alfa’s third book, she hits every emotion, and some you may have never even felt. The lines are raw and aching, and the book as a whole left me in awe of the woman who lived it and rose above.
With Abandoned Breaths, Alfa took us on a journey. Starting with Silent Squall, she delves a little deeper, showing us the dark that lies beneath the surface. She turns pain into poetry, telling a story of abuse and trauma, of heartbreak and loneliness, of hope and survival.
I was particularly drawn to the ‘therapy poems” scattered throughout the book. They give a little glimpse of what goes on in the mind of a woman in an abusive relationship. The blame and the hurt and the fear. The reasons they stay. Poetry is its own kind of therapy, and these pieces are powerful.
I am hard-pressed to pick a favorite here, because each piece feels necessary. But, on page 144, she says:
“And when you begin to feel your soul collapse...
Listen to it when it begs you to hold on.”
I admire her strength. And her words. And her.
With Abandoned Breaths, Alfa took us on a journey. Starting with Silent Squall, she delves a little deeper, showing us the dark that lies beneath the surface. She turns pain into poetry, telling a story of abuse and trauma, of heartbreak and loneliness, of hope and survival.
I was particularly drawn to the ‘therapy poems” scattered throughout the book. They give a little glimpse of what goes on in the mind of a woman in an abusive relationship. The blame and the hurt and the fear. The reasons they stay. Poetry is its own kind of therapy, and these pieces are powerful.
I am hard-pressed to pick a favorite here, because each piece feels necessary. But, on page 144, she says:
“And when you begin to feel your soul collapse...
Listen to it when it begs you to hold on.”
I admire her strength. And her words. And her.
bookswritingandmore's review
5.0
This writer continues to grow with every single new poetry book she publishes. She becomes more and more engraved in my heart. I love poets who really put their emotions out into their work and Alfa does this two fold. Her writing is exquisite. That is all.
yardchild's review
5.0
I'm not a fan of marring books with bent pages and dog-ears, but I put so many dog-ears in this book to hold the places which resonated in my heart. These words are so relatable in so many ways. I can't wait to share it with others.
kristianamr's review
5.0
‘It was him or me, and I decided – I wanted to live.’
Silent Squall was my first encounter with Alfa’s work. If I were to review the book in a few words, I would cite the journey I embarked upon from page one and the words I have been left with since. Alfa lives within these pages. She broke my heart (Flight), gifted me the parts large enough to piece back together (In the Air) and taught me how to do so (Landing).
In the author’s note, Alfa addresses a question she is often asked: ‘Why do you only write about love?’ She answers with the words – ‘Love trumps everything’ and in Silent Squall, this is the lesson she teaches. We are told a story about how love broke and abused her but we are taught that love can also save us, if we let it.
Flight
‘But, she will know her mother had layers that she never peeled back – for fear that her soul would seem chilly when unclothed.’
- Therapy Poems
Alfa opens honestly. It is painful but it is necessary. A few pieces in and her survival is palpable. ‘One day the leaves…’ (pg.24) explores how love changes its face. How hands made for holding can become fists. A smile becomes a snarl. The complexity of love is also captured by lines like ‘I spent most of our years together…trying to find a way out’ and ‘I have slept hungry an entire marriage.’ She opens our eyes, ears and hearts to the abuse she survived – she is honest, never gratuitous. ‘I cannot breathe’ (pg. 72) chilled me to the bone. The ‘angelic voice’ of her daughter kindled a fire in my belly and revealed to me how it feels to want to live, to want someone to survive.
In the Air
‘How to raise sons who respect women:
Never give them the opportunity
to see you disrespect yourself.’
- Therapy Poems
All of the ‘Therapy Poems’ in this part are outstanding. They continually remind us of the limbo between surviving and living. This is the beginning of recovery. As a result, this part feels muddled, methodically muddled. It is uncomfortable to read as we experience the taste of freedom and how the past is triggered; even when convinced she has run far enough away. Alfa does not try to strike a balance here. Instead, she lays out all her broken pieces and the parts she had learnt to hide.
Landing
Here we begin to truly feel those first words – ‘I wanted to live’. There is love, hope and Warrior Princess truth but by no means is it sunshine and rainbows. I adored how armed with metaphors (flowers in particular) her writing isn’t tinged with rose. From beginning to end, she gives us reality not romanticism.
We are often told there is light at the end of the tunnel. Alfa reveals how although this light exists; sometimes it is blinding, sometimes it glimmers gently and sometimes it is a candle guttering in the breeze. All you need to remember is the light still exists and love will lead you to it.
This book made me cry, frown, gasp, hope, laugh and smile. Alfa will remind you how sweet the taste of air is, how loud your heart pumps in your chest and how we are the calm and the storm.
prested's review
2.0
In a collection of poems, Alfa shares her personal experience with romance, marriage, divorce, and domestic abuse.
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I don't think this collection of poems were for me.
I couldn't relate to the poems at times and some of the inspirational poems read a little generic.
There were some poems that moved me, like the ones about parenting after separating and during an abusive marriage.
I think in part because I was raised by a single mom who had a abusive/toxic marriage so it resonated more with me.
Honestly, I just didn't enjoy this collection of poems, but I think it was because it's not meant for me. If I was older or experienced more in life maybe I would've liked it.
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I don't think this collection of poems were for me.
I couldn't relate to the poems at times and some of the inspirational poems read a little generic.
There were some poems that moved me, like the ones about parenting after separating and during an abusive marriage.
I think in part because I was raised by a single mom who had a abusive/toxic marriage so it resonated more with me.
Honestly, I just didn't enjoy this collection of poems, but I think it was because it's not meant for me. If I was older or experienced more in life maybe I would've liked it.
meglynw's review
3.0
While I typically really enjoy Alfa's writing, I didn't connect with the collection as much as others. I still find her style appealing, and her raw vulnerability empowering and inspiring. I plan to pass this one along to a friend in a bad relationship, and hope that it helps them as they move toward a new phase.
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