A review by camsbookcase
Scars and Stars: Poems by Jesse Thistle

5.0

Jesse Thistle's memoir, From the Ashes, was one of my favourite reads last year. His second book, Scars and Stars, is a blend of storytelling and poetry based on poems that he has written over many years. The book is broken into five sections, based on five aspects of Jesse's life journey, from his time as an addict on the streets, to his life as a parent of a newborn. I liked that each section started with a short story that introduced the poems included in that segment.

Jesse's story is fascinating - through a long journey of hard work and healing, he went from being a homeless addict to a university professor. He explains in this book how his writing has helped to heal him, and lucky for us, because we get to enjoy his raw and heartfelt writing. Readers who loved From the Ashes will enjoy learning more of his life story in this short and beautiful book of poetry.