Say it with me now, "I am a woman, I am a human and I matter with no conditions attached. You may not see my worth, but I do. I do."
One of my favorite line from Amanda Lovelace's book. Feminism is shouting in every word. The line reminding every woman her self worth. For the past months, I've been reading some poetry books because there were times I cannot help but question my worth. I happened to stumble upon this author in google, of course, as I was searching some feminist books. I don't know, feminist books help me uplift my mood when I am depressed, it helped me realize what I should feel or do or what I shouldn't. Helped me to feel stronger and independent. I have read fiction and non fiction feminism. This time the emotion of a woman is expressed through poetry. I have read Amanda Lace's four poetry books in no time. 😀 They were so hard to put down and I felt like I needed to bookmark almost every pages of them. Too bad they were not really thick books and it made me crave for more.
"When he comes back, he comes back missing her body. Not her."
- Break Your Glass Slippers
Oh, how much I really love this book from the very first page down to the last. The poems were more about breaking off from a toxic relationship and being changed and strong from all the traumas. Amanda was just so natural and relatable for some women who had experience the same. It is like helping you to break an unhealthy cycle and keep going as a stronger woman. "There is such bravery in silence."
"Give me space to heal. I asked of them."
- To Drink Coffee With A Ghost
In this book, Amanda expressed her grief in losing a mother, death and self care. I think it is on a more personal side of the author and I can't help but feel for her. Dealing with a loss is so hard as it is and sure writing can help anyone cope if not move on. "Your comfort is not more important than my journey to healing."
"The monster made himself another monster because he couldn't stand being a monster all by himself."
- To Make Monsters Out of Girls
How do boys make monsters out of girls? Girls, if not all, are mostly sweet and loving in nature. Until such time a monster boy cause and triggers a girl's rage. The book composed of somewhat love-hate relationship and in the end the poems sound of rage, disappointments and transformation of a sweet girl into a monster that the boy never expected.
"Sometimes the person they swear they'll never turn into is the person who's always been standing right before you."
"There came a time when poetry showed me how to bleed without the demand of blood."
- The Princess Saves Herself On This One
Isn't this one so catchy and lovely? A bookmark-must line from The Princess Saves Herself in This One. This is the most popular and best selling book of Amanda Lovelace. It is also a very personal collection from her, I guess. The poems inside are about her mother, the death of her mother and her sister, about family, lies and heartbreak. This is also the very first book I read from her that made me crave for more of her words. It's like a girl who believed in fairytale and waiting for a prince to save her and then she realized no one would come, a princess could only save herself. "The princess jumped from the tower and she learned that she could fly all along."
There you go, my four poetry books from Amanda Lovelace. Actually she still have some books I didn't include, for my own reasons 😀 but surely, most of them are really really page turner. These books were my companion and some times until now I look back on my bookmarked pages to keep me going. When my raging emotions got me and feel like I'm burning with the fire and ready to throw it all to the world, reading these books got my feelings validated. That it's okay not to feel okay, it's okay to feel angry at times, to feel the things you are supposed to feel even if you're just a girl, a woman. You are human, you're not perfect, you'll get down but you'll get back up stronger. 😊