For me this poetry just wasn't for me. I didn't truly feel it. This book was written in 4 parts, A Field of Meditation, Saying Yes to the Mess, The Courage to Stand Alone, and Reasons to Stay Alive. Each part was supposed to have an impact. For me personally it feels flat. To be fair I feel as if the writing wasn't for me either. I am grateful for a review copy and hope it helps whoever looking for it.

You Were Never Broken by Jeff Foster - a book of poetry very much in the spirit of Tyler Knott Gregson. Both authors pull from the Eastern tradition of nature and spirituality to deliver axiomatic poetry in an epistolary format that comes across as prose. Conversational in nature, the poem dwells on themes of self-actualization, resilience and reassurance.⁠
⁠
There are some quotable verses scattered throughout, some delivered through elegant imagery. The tone was one of confidences, as if a much older person were imparting upon you the wisdom of a long life. If you like poetry that crosses over into the realm of self-help, Foster's poetry will be of interest to you. ⁠

I approached this with positive expectations from reading other reviews. I am uncertain of the intended audience, so perhaps a young or beginning reader of this genre will find value that a more seasoned life traveler has moved beyond. For this traveler, I was disappointed in finding nothing unique or profound here.
As for being called “poetry”, I humbly disagree. My fondness for the power of poetry led me to select this title. Instead, it is a run-on reflective essay of sorts, merely in a verse style of sorts.
I was reminded of Hugh Prather’s Notes to Myself: My Struggle to Become a Person, which was a novel compilation to my 18-year young brain. Yes, I think calling this stream of consciousness, reflections, or notes, is more accurate than the talent and skill imparted by genuine poetry. Additionally, taking a few full pages of stream of consciousness writing and dividing them into a few sentences per page, and printing it as a 211-page book is disappointing.

The author’s suffering and seemingly dedicated search for meaning, clarity, and relief, elicits our gentle bow of sympathy and empathy. It is difficult being human. Life has much suffering and travail. May the author deepen his study of Buddhism, which truly offers clarity and direction for our universal plight of suffering and, oh gloriously, offers a way through. Yet, it is unfortunate and misleading to “drop” Buddha’s name without a fuller grasp of his teaching. This author’s reflection shows new age exploration, some personal insight, and missing wisdom of the sincere Buddhist practitioner.

Finally, the author’s tense changes from first person to second. He can speak for his own experience but lacks any authority to presume he knows what is true for others. Is this naivete or hubris?
Let us applaud his reckoning, the attention to his condition, and his effort to recover and embrace life. This is a reasonable emerging self-awareness, but it is journal writing turned toward others. I suggest it needs much more steeping to offer depth and useful insights.

You Were Never Broken is a collection of poems that will help you to understand yourself but more important will help you to understand that you are the one that controls your life. Book is divided into few parts that includes the poems with different themes. It was my first poetry book and I was very surprised how much I enjoyed reading it. The poems were surprisingly eye-opening. I felt that with each one teaches me something new or gives me the advice that I really needed to hear. I read a lot of self-help books but this one the only one that actually helped me to finally open my eyes and understand that sometimes I just need to sit down, rest and do nothing because that's exactly what I needed at the time. I think this book is a perfect choice for young adults that are new in this chaotic type of life of being always busy.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Sounds True and Jeff Foster for providing me with this book! This book is definitely a must-read for young adults in 2020.

This was a really insightful collection and I really felt seen reading this book. The prose and poetry is very readable and easily relatable for the average person. I really wish I would have had a better formatted ePub file so I could see the text laid out the way the author intended but that is obviously not a fault of the book.

“There is nothing wrong with you.”

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC and the chance to read this early

The language of this was very boring. It was told in a tone that didn't work out for the poetry or rather the message of the poems. If things was switched up this poetry collection would have been a wonderful read.

You Were Never Broken is a poetry book by Jeff Foster including an assortment of poems arranged by four sections. While the cover was attractive, I found the pages of the actual poems to be lacking and I think that would have provided some visual interest to accompany the poems. As for the actual poems, I found the poems to be overly simplistic, and sometimes line-to-line the poems did not flow well. I think the punctuation may have contributed to the awkward timing and rhythm of the poems and suggest the author may include more thoughtful use of periods and commas that more effectively flow. Given the title, I also wish some of the poems would have centered a bit more on why the reader is not broken, rather than a more affirmation style. I think this is a good start and may be interesting to those looking for simple poems and aren't looking for as much reflection in their poems.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sounds True for gifting a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Beautiful collection of poetry. Inspiring, motivational, and moving. It has so many great messages. It warmed my soul and touched me deeply.

I have never been a big fan of poetry; however, during the past year I picked up some more recent books filled with poetry that I could actually relate to. The title of this book intrigued me because it seemed like it might have an element of the memoirs I love to read.

The author, Jeff Foster, divides this book into four sections: A Field of Meditation; Saying Yes to the Mess; The Courage to Stand Alone; and Reasons to Stay Alive. This is easy to read and filled with what Jeff has learned through his experiences in life.

I appreciated how Foster reminds us to slow down, be in the present moment and just breathe.

I’m late in posting this review but I still just have to say this is a good book.
You were never broken, it’s a collection of poetry that’s beautiful and inspiring. Break down what you know about poetry (especially mainstream) and see how different this one is.

2.75

Thank you to NetGally for giving an arc in equivalent exchange for an honest review

This poetry book was about knowing your worth and how even though you are broken, you are still a powerful human being that is still currently living in a world full of hatred and narcisim.

I...didn't like this poetry book. It has certain points of views that I didn't agree with and very little on things that I do agree. The author mixed a hint of religion and spirituality in poems, which was a new way of "reaching" out to peopel through verses and stanzas. But there are just certain things that doesn't go well together. Life experience does make a good poetry content but kind of showcasing that negativity is sometimes a good thing to have in life.

I don't really knows how to fully express how I feel in terms of what's good and what's not. All I can say is that this poetry book was not something that I was looking for at the moment.

This book read as meditation through poetry/verse. It contained many affirmations to help you through any struggles you maybe facing. I found it to be a very enjoyable to mentally refocus on your own value and needs. Thanks to #netgalley and Sounds True Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was just a collection of stream of consciousness essays with spaces and line breaks inserted. I couldn't finish it.

This is a lovely combination of self-help and poetry. The poems lift and soothe the reader. I recommend this book especially during this time of Covid when we could all benefit from being reminded of our value. I received a copy of this book for my unbiased review.

Jeff Foster is a man who knows how to feel and how to express those feelings in wonderfully relatable and comforting ways.

You know all those times you feel alone, are struggling, doubt your worth to the world, wonder if there's any point in going on? Jeff has been there, and is brave enough to share his story. Above all else, this is a book about accepting yourself, accepting the world around you, and knowing that whatever is happening at the present time can be used for your growth and betterment. You are ok.

Reading this book is like having a long conversation with a dear and trusted friend where no matter what you say or express or feel, you are loved and accepted. Yes, it's exactly like that!

My thanks to NetGalley and Sounds True for allowing me to read a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I wasn't a fan. I think it just wasn't something that resonated with me, I couldn't get myself into this collection.

While I enjoyed the message the poems seemed to be a bit repetitive. The word "sacred" was overused. I did think it was well written and I liked the message of self love and recovery.

I wanted so desperately wanted to read this and love it but it wasn't for me at all. I didn't quite understand why there were so many paragraphs and not just poems. I don't feel like poems need explanation when written properly.

This was not the book for me. This poetry collection felt like a self-help book more than anything. Maybe that is what Foster was going for, but I am not a fan of self-help books. The writing felt mediocre and nothing groundbreaking. His advice for wanting to kill yourself was not very good, at least in my opinion. I think that he could have written better instead of bringing up therapy and all the things that you could miss out on.

This book is so so beautiful. Some parts are a bit confusing for me, or maybe don’t make as much sense as I would’ve liked but I suppose that’s just what it’s all about, it doesn’t need to make sense completely, it needs to make you feel something. It was very helpful and I will read it often. It’s a simple, quick read and it’s pretty perfect. I’d like it more if there were pictures though, the layout is slightly lacking. It was extremely thought provoking though, it completely made a good thought space. Just the layout really.