Reviews

Morning Leaves: Reflections on Loss, Grief, and Connection by Laing F. Rikkers

roselillian's review

3.5

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was the artwork gorgeous? Yes.

Were the poems themselves kind of basic? Yes… but hear me out.

While the poems themselves weren’t anything new or particularly skillful, that wasn’t really the point. The point was to use nature to process through grief. Furthermore, I think if you read it you should read a poem a day and take the time to sit on the poems, let them make you feel the palpable emotions she was feeling: the grief and anger and loneliness and protectiveness.

Also, in case you’re wondering, my favorite poem was Buttercup, and not only cause it’s my favorite flower but because it was the most different of all the poems and reminded me of running through the fields of the flowers as a child.

 

alreadsitall's review

3.0

The illustrations in this book are gorgeous. The idea of poetry centered on nature is nothing new, but still difficult to accomplish. I don't know if this really touches on grief and loss the way the author intended, but I applaud her for jumping in on something new during an extremely difficult time in her life.

I expected a lot more out of this after dealing with my own loss and grief in 2019. I wish it would have done more. Themes could have been more prevalent, ideas expanded upon, and overall just more could have been done with each poem. They felt like little half thoughts written down quickly and forgotten.

My favorite line though was "My heart is an avocado pit pierced with toothpicks, hanging in my chest." It's so strange, but also fully speaks to how you feel after losing someone so loved.