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.

Rating 4.5/5

I loved this collection of poems. The theme is so beautiful. The starting of the book just opened my eyes and made me more aware of myself. I felt every poem written. I enjoyed it so much that I don't want to write a review because it is just a feeling unexplainable. I felt some poems were a bit long. That's the only thing I found in this book that I mostly avoid reading as long poems make me a little bored if the theme is not good but I liked this one. The poet has indept knowledge of the human nature and I felt more confident and alive after reading this collection. It's a must read for everyone.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book is a book of poems broken up into four different sections within the book and each section has information from the poet about the forthcoming poetry, his experiences etc and is then followed by poems.

The book has a very conversational feel to it almost like the author is talking just to you. This book focuses on reassuring you that you are enough and to put a bad day down to being just that - a bad day and to never think of yourself as not whole or broken as we all are unique and different. This is a great book to read when you feel low, fed up, anxious or depressed.

definitely, this was not for me. i actually think there are people who will identify more with the style, but that's not my case. i felt that the book was using the resource of "romanticizing" the trauma/sadness/depression, like it’s nothing <i>bad</i>, just a part of life. i know some people will agree with that thinking that is ok to live with having terrible thoughts, but i disagree a lot with that way of seeing the struggles of living with mental illness and saying that you have to "acclimate/accept" it. for me, it's not that simple. i know that is only MY impression of the poems, but it made me so difficult to connect/relate with the things I was reading.

it's short and easy to read but it made me so sleeeeepy, two times I almost fall asleep. Like I said, this was not for me.

This was a really good read. It covers some heavy material so be aware of that going in (cw at end). Normally I don't enjoy intros to poetry collections that explain the content of the poetry but the sections of prose in this collection were very well done and added to the overall effect of the poetry. I'd almost go so far as to say it enhanced the poems.

This is a book about accepting yourself and the way your mind works unapologetically and finding joy in the simple act of existing. It wants you to be able to simply be, however you are, and to realize that you are not a broken individual.

On another note, every time the author refers to God as she I ascended.

CW: talk of suicidal ideation

This is the most beautiful book of mindfulness and self-kindness that I've ever read. The book contains dozens of short poems that land gently on your heart.

This quote is the embodiment of the book...
"... The most “awake” ones are the ones who have fallen in love with their ordinariness, who have cultivated a deep warm compassion for themselves, a profound self-kindness, a tenderness toward their own tired minds and aching bodies, and who radiate that delicious empathy into the world."

I loved this book and will continue to revisit it. I received this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. My thanks to #NetGalley, the author, and the publisher. #YouWereNeverBroken

This was much more bad self help then poetry to me and it was hard for me to get through. I have Depression and honestly it just felt like a mockery of my feelings. Just do x or y thing and it'll be better, because "you were never broken."
Maybe I was just in the wrong mindset while reading. Or maybe this poetry just wasn't for me (which is okay because if anything poetry is very personal.)

"It takes courage to lean into the storm" (poem The courage to stop running), the storm could simply be life, it takes courage to live fully, to say yes to the beauty, to the mess and everything in between...

I really appreciated this poetry book that offers deep and yet easy to grasp insights on life. I think everyone will find a poem that speak to them directly, or at least be reminded that's it's OK to feel whatever they feel and to live in the now.

Thank you Jeff Foster, Sounds True and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so encouraging and amazingly written, such beautiful writing. I loved and related to so much of this. I love how it talks about love, being in the present moment, and the reminder that it is okay to feel and not escape it.

I enjoyed the poetry, a few poems I did relate to more than others, especially the beginning but as I went on I felt more and more disconnected from the work.

It was good but it wasn’t fantastic, at some points I felt like it was almost a self-help book.

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. I really resonated with the first two, and I loved the writing. I appreciated the way each poem follows an emotion, they have a lot of thought behind them. The book highlights meditation and embracing the harder parts of life, while challenging your emotions, I think it was a good read, especially during these hard times!!

Definitely recommend if you're looking for some positive-reinforcement!

This was more self-help than I was expecting and maybe I just wasn't in the right mood for it, but it didn't really resonate with me. Definitely worth dipping into and seeing if it resonates with you.

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

User friendly poems!

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for the book

"Bow to confusion!
It is the fertile ground
from which great clarity blossoms in its own sweet time"

You were never broken is a collection of every day feelings as the author itself says were written over a period of time. The poetry style can be improved however the message is received.

The poems were direct, simple and in conversational about out feelings of being sad, desperate and also accepting oneself

The book is written in 4 parts
Part One : A field of Meditation
Part Two: Saying Yes to the mess
Part Three: The Courage to stand Alone
Part four: Reasons to stay Alive

Each part has its own introduction and subtopics to help people struggling with their feelings.

I found this book to be very comforting. It was like a hug.

I enjoyed Foster's writing style and I could hear his words speak to me as I related to each one.

Everyone should read.

I really enjoyed reading this book! The poems are very thought provoking and seem to have a lot of emotion behind them which I like. Plus the cover is stunning which is always a plus!!! I definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys poetry. You will not be disappointed!

This is the first poetry collection I’ve ever read by jeff Foster and it wasn’t something for me. For some reason I couldn't get into this poetry collection. Maybe it was the writing or maybe I just couldn’t connect to the poems. I really liked the intro and after the intro, I just couldn't enjoy this collection. I’ve had this before that I just couldn’t enjoy a poetry collection. Perhaps it's just not the time to read this book and maybe later I’ll buy this poetry collection and read it again. Sometimes you just cannot enjoy a poetry collection and that's okay.

A collection of meditative poetry that encourages the reader that it’s okay to feel human by experiencing their emotions to better understand themselves and appreciate their everyday lives.

Jeff Foster has crafted the type of poems that you can read between the lines of and they deserve to be revisited, especially during harder moments of your life. Not only that, but I really enjoyed the chapter descriptions too and connected with those write-ups just as much, if not more.

I waited a couple days to write this review because I’m still uncertain of how I feel.

This book of poetry is written in 4 parts. At times, I found it so disturbing because it uttered my exact feelings that I had not been able to put into words. At other times, I felt such a huge disconnect from the other. It was as though grief was only something he had read about and not experienced.

Here’s my big however - isn’t that how grief works? It’s so familiar and yet so foreign. I may reread this in a month and the sections when I thought, “what a fake!” will suddenly resonate with me the most.

Overall, this is one to add to my collection. I’ve enjoyed this as much as one can enjoy facing grief.