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happylilkt's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
If you pick this up as a Poetry Reader who studies a lot of Poetry, then you might be disappointed.
If you pick this up as a new mother who feels steamrolled by what-just-happened-to-me then you might feel understood.
If you pick this up expecting that you will connect with at least one poem, you might feel disappointed or perhaps elated. I think it's typically going to swing wide.
I liked many of these poems and related to much of and in them, though I don't think I'll be returning to them again and again. They aren't the sorts of poems I would memorize to carry within me for an anchor or a spring. But they ARE the kind of poems I could send to a girlfriend in the aftershock of childbirth or divorce or other confusion and trust that she will feel relief that she is not alone. That's one role poetry is here for and by that definition this collection succeeds.
In short, while this collection is for a specific subset of women, I'm glad these poems exist.
If you pick this up as a Poetry Reader who studies a lot of Poetry, then you might be disappointed.
If you pick this up as a new mother who feels steamrolled by what-just-happened-to-me then you might feel understood.
If you pick this up expecting that you will connect with at least one poem, you might feel disappointed or perhaps elated. I think it's typically going to swing wide.
I liked many of these poems and related to much of and in them, though I don't think I'll be returning to them again and again. They aren't the sorts of poems I would memorize to carry within me for an anchor or a spring. But they ARE the kind of poems I could send to a girlfriend in the aftershock of childbirth or divorce or other confusion and trust that she will feel relief that she is not alone. That's one role poetry is here for and by that definition this collection succeeds.
In short, while this collection is for a specific subset of women, I'm glad these poems exist.
siebensommer's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Commencement Address
When I take my evening walk, I unlock rooms
I never meant to close, which is one way
to write a book. Another is to peel
an orange or take a shower or
fall in love with someone dangerous.
At any given moment there is someone getting
what they always wanted.
I know no quicker way to ruin a day
than to dwell on this.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism
ibaspel's review against another edition
3.0
glimpses of the sublime wedged into the dreaded insta-poetry format
if baer could break out of this overly-commercialized, clipped form, she could be onto something truly beautiful here
if baer could break out of this overly-commercialized, clipped form, she could be onto something truly beautiful here
itsmetaphysical's review against another edition
2.0
Originally rated this as four stars simply bc it’s poetry but can’t be doing that with this
hank22's review against another edition
5.0
INCREDIBLE. Highly recommend getting a hardback so you can have it out on your desk and flip through when you need a life giving breather.
bookworm91's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.5
mdevlin923's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of poems that focus on women in three different stages: when they are women, when they are wives, and when they are mothers.
yuzuuka's review against another edition
4.25
This is one of my first poetry collections, and I felt the poems were easy to digest- as I usually find poetry very complicated. The themes covered in this book felt incredibly raw and real. My favourite aspects of this collection were Kate's poems about womanhood and motherhood. The complexity of being so wholly devoted to a child, I felt I appreciated her perspective of a mother that wasn't all just rainbows and sunshine. All in all, I felt this was a solid piece of work.