Poetry is often hit or miss for me. I wanted to read this poetry book because I had recently experience grief. However, I didn't find myself contacting the words. However, that is not to say that this poetry book won't appeal better to another reader. This book has substance and can be read over and over again to pick up on things a reader might have missed the first time.

William Bortz has written an incredibly powerful narrative on grief. The use of language is beautiful and helps to create clear imagery in the mind. “Death will forever be the enemy because it will take” is one of the many quotes that stuck out for me during the reading of this another quote is “a wish is the bone, fractured asking to be mended/ hope is the bone never learning it can be broken”. These two lines are just a small example of the way Bortz uses language in a precise and clever way as a way of showing emotion and the way in which grief can leaving us all feel.
The flow if this book worked perfectly for me as I took in each word and kept reading. Would recommend this to book happily.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I'd like to thank Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the eARC for an honest review.

I really tried to like this collection of poetry. It was formatted beautifully and having been through my own fair share of grief I thought that I would definitely be able to relate and get something from this collection. However, I felt that it was written in a way that I couldn't connect with. I feel like the author had a certain way he wanted his poetry to read but of course the readers don't know how that is which meant it didn't read very clearly for me. I completely appreciate a good metaphor when it comes to poetry but I felt like there were way too many in this collection that it made the real meaning behind the words disappear.

The bits that filtered through were heart breaking and I really feel for the author. I think it's very brave of them to write such an emotional collection. I feel like grief is the hardest emotion to understand and to digest. To be able to write about the worst parts of our lives is very commendable. Maybe other people will be able to connect with this collection but I just found it too convoluted and not really accessible for the reader.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
A sad, yet enthralling look at grief that I could easily relate to.

I received an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.




I honestly do not remember requesting this book and believe it must of shown up on its own.

I have no interest in read this book. However the cover is pretty cool!!

There is a story between the lines.

Sometimes you have to reread it to see it, but Bortz gives a good depiction on how emotion can be both a burden and a blessing, a teacher and a torturer.

Intimate, delicate, painfully sincere; Bortz poetry collection deals with the most sensitive and personal theme there is, that of grief, and does so in the most beautiful way.

I’m not a big poetry reader but I found this collection hauntingly beautiful. I enjoyed the different methods used and although grief is a extremely personal subject I think there will be something here that everyone can relate to. My personal favourites were “Outcomes”, “In Coping with an empty chair”, “War Paint”, “Control”, “Depression Medicine” and “Porchlight”.

I will definitely be looking into reading more collections from Bortz.

Not my usual form of reading I know. But we all have experienced grief in our lives. My daughter is struggling with lots of sudden deaths in her life so I thought I would read this to see if there were some uplifting thoughtful poems within it.

I did find some.

Some of these poems are subjective I think to every personal experience.

I personally found myself tearful too many times as it brought back emotions I’d buried. I get the hope, I get the memory has all parts to play.

I appreciate the poems. Some stronger than others.

Because every poem is based on grief then I’d say, beware some might make you cry, feel things you thought you’d dealt with.

Grief is a wild thing, simultaneously a simmering quiet and a roaring scream, and the causes for grief are as varied as the ways in which it is experienced. I have to admit being slightly let down by this book, not at all to say it is not good or worth reading, but simply that my hopes and excitement were too high. For someone like me who struggles with their mental health, especially lately, a visceral poetic portrayal of grief was appealing. I will say that I loved the variety of writing styles employed in Bortz's work; this only added to the depth of experience. While this may not be my favorite poetry collection as of late, I am going to keep watching William Bortz.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The words within this book melted my heart. As someone that has experienced a lot of grief, I often find it hard to find poetry that portrays exactly how I am feeling or have felt in the past... as everybody experiences grief differently. However, the poems all portrayed different elements of grief and the way it moulds you and how it almost befriends you for the rest of your life. William Bortz;s writing was so immensely powerful and I adored the entirety of the book.
Naturally, reading about something as overpowering as grief can be difficult. I found myself being able to read certain poems with ease but others with great difficulty and that's why I'm rating this 3 stars. Despite that though, this book was beautifully written

I received a free e-arc of this poetry collection on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this collection. While the writing was beautiful and the I liked the layout of the poetry, I felt like some of the poetry did not flow well. I personally did not feel like I could relate to most of the poems which is a shame but obviously personal experience. There were definitely some poems that hit me (clearsunned and control are two examples that come to mind).

Grief is something that is extremely personal and challenging to process. These poems had some very powerful lines in them and I feel like anyone who has experienced grief of any kind would be able to find something in this collection that spoke to them. I am interested in reading more by this author in the future.

A beautiful book of poems about grief. Each poem is touching and truly beautiful. I really enjoyed reading this and could relate to a lot of the grief in these poems. I would highly recommend this selection of poetry for anyone who enjoys poetry!

*Thank you Netgalely for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*