I am a little late reviewing this book.
I really liked these poems. I could definitely feel some of them, and I definitely recommend this book.
I liked a lot of these poems, of course there are a few here and there that spoke to me less, but that is to be expected.

Another poetry collection from Iain Thomas and another book that has the power, I think, to heal so many people. His words are simple but sincere and real. They clearly come from his heart and so they touch yours. I dare you not to find a poem in this collection you relate to. Something will call to you.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me a copy of this collection to read in exchange for a review. Unfortunately, it seems that I didn't download the title before it was archived, therefore I will leave a middling review as I have not read it.

Another strong collection of poetry by Thomas. I love the way he tells a story through his poetry, definitely recommend.

''In the end, the lights go out one by one and knowing they were lit doesn’t dim the dark''

This, sadly, wasn't for me. I found the majority of these poems lacking real depth. I would save very few poems that reached me, but overall this was unnecessarily long and not that deep.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of the book.

Firstly, I would like to thank NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the eARC for an honest review.

I felt that this was such an uplifting and honest collection of poetry that I really enjoyed. I think the first section of poems that focused on love and relationships was really nice. I loved connecting to the words and being able to share in that with my partner who also enjoyed and related to what I showed him. This collection is one that aims to build its readers up. It definitely did that for me. It spoke of acceptance which a lot of us struggle with. This collection made me feel seen.

It probably isn't the most traditional poetry collection and leans more towards poetic prose but I really did enjoy it. It felt like a pick me up after a really hard day (or year). I would recommend this collection to anyone who struggles with self doubt, even if poetry isn't really your thing. Open your mind and let the words of Iain S. Thomas speak to you.

A beautiful, earnest poetry collection about our vulnerabilities and relationships. I especially adored the poems ruminating on love and loss. The collection is well narrated by the author, Iain S. Thomas. Though the background music is distracting at times. Overall, a wonderful volume of poetry.

Thank you Andrews McMeel Audio and NetGalley for providing this ebook and audiobook ARC.

I thought this work of poetry was good, but not great. The first half of the book seemed to be heartbreak/love type of poems, but the second half of the book took a complete turn and read more like a motivational read. I liked the latter half of the book more, though many of the poems as a whole felt very generic. With that said, I still enjoy lyrical poetry and most of the poems in this work did follow that style, so it wasn't a bad book by any means, I just wanted a bit more out of it. With that being said, poetry is extremely personal thus I would recommend everyone to try this book out to see if it might fit their reading tastes better than mine and can be better connected to these poems than me.

Lain S. Thomas' writing is so raw, beautiful and captivating. I flew through this poetry collection. The poems where painful at times but also healing as well. I really recommend this poetry collection to anyone really!!

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this free eArc, this is my honest review.

Dieser Gedichtband ist in mehrere Abschnitte gegliedert, welche die Gedichte thematisch in "glückliche Beziehung", "Trennung", "Neubeginn" u.ä. unterteilen. Die meisten Gedichte umfassen nur wenige Zeilen, gelegentlich finden sich längere dazwischen. Hübsche, liebevolle schwarz-weiß Zeichnungen fangen die Stimmung der Gedichte perfekt ein.

Insgesamt hat mir diese Zusammenstellung gut gefallen. Die Gedichte haben mich berührt und einige regten mich zum Verweilen und Nachdenken an. Auch die Sortierung der Gedichte in die jeweiligen Abschnitte fühlte sich passend an. Die kleinen Zeichnungen waren eine schöne Abwechslung und machen das Buch zu etwas Besonderem, sie gefielen mir sehr.
Ein wenig schade fand ich, dass sich einige Gedichte so stark glichen, dass ich kurz dachte, sie würden sich wiederholen. Innerhalb der Abschnitte hätte ich mir daher noch ein bisschen mehr Abwechslung gewünscht.

Ich vergebe empfehlenswerte 4 Sterne.


In English:

This volume of poems is divided into several sections, which thematically categorize the poems in "happy relationship", "separation", "new beginning" and so on. Most poems only last a few lines, with occasional longer poems every now and then. Pretty, loving black and white drawings perfectly capture the mood of the poems.

Overall, I liked this compilation a lot. The poems touched me and some made me linger and reflect. The sorting of the poems into the respective sections also felt appropriate. The small drawings were a nice change and make the book something special, I liked them a lot.
I found it a bit unfortunate that some poems were so similar that I thought for a moment that they would be repeated. I would have liked a little more variety within the sections.

I give a recommendable 4 stars.

This was an absolutely incredible collection. I felt every word and so many of the words resonated deeply in me. It was a collection of strength, hope and exactly what i needed to read right now. I'm so glad i've found this book and will be buying a copy the moment it's released.

3.5 Stars

I really enjoyed this collection of poetry. I really liked the format and the way the collection was divided, as well as the illustrations that are inserted throughout. As is typically for me, I liked the longer poems more than I liked the shorter/inspiration quote type poems. Shorter poems are so hard to write and make impactful, and unfortunately a lot of the ones in this collection felt hollow for me. However, the longer ones were beautifully written and there were definitely a few that I went back to and reread.

My favourite poems in this collection:
- A Falling Bird
- A Book Left Out in the Rain
- A Tree Growing Where It Can't
- A Soft Light on the Horizon
- A Child Collecting Leaves
- An Infinite Line
- A Stranger on the Street
- A Bike Left Against a Tree
- A Path Across a Field
- A Sunset in a Foreign Country
- A Window Rattling
- A State of Being
- A Voice from Your Past
- A Line at a Time
- A Way to Travel
- A Handprint on a Window
- An Echo in the Dark

This is a lovely little collection of poetry. I enjoyed the themes around which the poems were arranged, and while I wasn't blown away by the depth of the poetry, there were some bright little moments.

The Truth of You: Poetry About Love, Life, Joy, and Sadness (Paperback)
by Iain S. Thomas
The audible version is read with an Australian accent. Making the poems full of light and mystic.
The poems are thought provoking, telling about love, life, friendship, how we must look at the world. In the audio the transcendence of meditative music add to the need and desires in the stories.
I had to reach out and get the print version of the book, only to see the divisions of the poems, since they seem to go as a transcendent thought a conversation between and elder and and younger. Between the poet, and the audience teaching, empowering and belonging. The inspiring words are something you could grow with. I could see children listening to this or having each of them read the poems aloud to each other, with thousand moments of inspiration to look not only in your self but beyond to the things that make life worthwhile.

The Truth of you is a collection of poems about love, life, sadness, and hope. I enjoyed this poetry book a lot - poems are beautiful, and some are quite emotional. A few of them are pretty short but great all the same. I liked the vast majority of them, and I could feel what the author wanted to say.

I listened to an audiobook first and then decided to review an e-book also. Both formats are great, so a reader can choose what suits him/her most. In an audiobook, the author narrates the poems, and his narration is perfect. Also, music in the background helps to create the mood. In the e-book, illustrations are a great addition to poems.

Thanks to the publisher for the opportunity to read this! All opinions are my own.

The Truth of You is a beautiful compilation of poetry about love, heartbreak, and healing. From the innocence of a first love to the uneasy path forward after saying goodbye to someone you never thought you would have to.

3.5 stars

This poetry collection is divided into sections. Each builds onto the next. It feels like the story of a person — young and still relatively new to the dangers of the world — falling blindly in love, to the extent that all they see is the person they're in love with. And then inevitably, they're left alone, heartbroken, drowning in their pain and diminishing self worth. They fall in love again and it's all wrong again. I could taste the bitterness in these poems, especially when they attributed blame to God. But thankfully, there's more. Because if it's wasn't, then this book would not be as important as it promises to be at the start. The second half of the book shines more brightly than the first. The section titled 'In which we hope' was definitely my favourite.

A lot of these poems read like affirmations. Some of them are prose poems. What drew me into reading this book, however, was Thomas' opening letter(s) to the reader:
Dear you,
I want you to know that I see you.
Something got stuck in my throat as I read Thomas' letters — in the description (cover) of the book, at the start and at the end. He signs two of them "—pleasefindthis". I love the urgency in that phrase. It shows the writer really cares about the reader; even if the reader does not care about the poems just yet.

I read this book over the course of many weeks and took my time thinking about some of them. My favourites included:
'An Infinite Line': which in five short lines describes every poet in love
'A Key Lost in a Field': which encourages one to allow sincere love in
'A State of Being': all of the lovely imagery — a bird, a secret memory in someone's head, rising strings in a song, coffee at your favorite café, light shining through the leaves...
'A Lion Going to Sleep': a gesture of affirmation (of love)
'A Cloud of Dust': how time apart from loved one(s) does not mean they are not thinking of the other
'A Swimming Pool': another sappy love poem
'A Thing You Cannot Point At': encouragement to not be part of the generational trauma that taught children how to love dysfunctionally
'A Voice from Your Past': how parental criticism can become the (dominant) voice in your head
'A Long Shadow': demands that you can be a role model for others too
'A Silver Door': urging writers to write because what they write does indeed matter

Finally, bold (e.g. dark snowy mountain peaks) and delicate (e.g. a dandelion struck by wind) illustrations intersperse the poems, adding to the loveliness of some of these gems. Thomas' calls this collection 'this shared land', inviting readers to visit the book again and again...when required, as needed.

Would recommend this book if you're looking for an easy-to-grasp free verse poetry collection, which leaves you feeling seen.

As someone who has consumed a lot of Iain S. Thomas' poetry, I can very confidently say I am over his entire schtick. When you start reading his work (especially if you're a poetry novice), it feels super deep and personal and written just for you. But then you read more of it, and you realize that the way it's written actually isn't personal at all but instead lacks any real depth or perspective.

Still, I decided to dip back into Thomas' world because I was curious to see if anything had changed. Mostly, it hadn't, but I did appreciate how Thomas seemed to be writing somewhat to the moment. He writes about loneliness, grief, and the times we're living in with empathy and compassion. I really enjoyed those poems. The rest I could give or take.

If you already like his work, this is more of the same from Thomas. If not, I do not recommend starting here.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this available..

I liked this collection of poetry, there was a few poems that I enjoyed. But overall the rest of the book felt a little all over the place, I didn't feel like I was on the journey with the author.

This book was sent to me as an ARC on NetGalley. However, all opinions are of my own.
I’ve read this poetry book on the eve of a first death anniversary and I felt like every word cut through me like a knife.
Every single poem was an intricate explanation.
Some were sad.
Others were happy.
While some screamed love and loss.
I will definitely be purchasing this and going back to it when I feel I want to feel my emotions and be really in it.