"DKMH" is an overall okay poetry collection. I think the opening was probably the best part as the rest was not as good. Dacre did a good job on the narration.

Dacre Montgomery’s voice makes the delivery of his writing hit harder, in my opinion, than if I were to read this on my own. His reading is smooth, the rhythm of the poetry flows so well I forgot I was listening to a book of poems. I’m not an expert on poetry. As someone who doesn’t listen to it, or read it, very often I was totally entranced.

I could listen to Dacre’s voice forever. It’s so powerful yet soothing. He has the perfect voice to narrate books and to know that it’s something personal to him makes it so much richer.

The poetry was not among the better contemporary poetry out there. It was enjoyable to listen to mostly but the rhyming became distracting.

The Intro Poem was raw and emotional, it shed a light on the author's view of the world and it was relatable.
From then on, the writing was lazy, exaggerated use of imagery, and rhyme, and any of those initial emotions seemed forced.


Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the sound of the poetry in this audiobook. The voice of the narrator (who was also the poet!) never bored me; each word was packed with emotion, each poem following an unexpected trajectory. I actually found myself letting the words flow through me like new music—a singular experience. Of course, the poetry was not only expressive, but also meaningful. The stories were unique and entertaining, to the point that I felt the book ended too soon.

I really enjoyed the introduction, but the poems themselves ultimately fell flat for me. I will say, though, that Dacre's voice is made for audiobooks and I felt very calmed while listening to this, even though I didn't care much for the content.

As I imagine you might see in other reviews, the introduction to this book, where Montgomery is simply speaking, might actually be the most interesting piece in this book. He has a way of speaking that feels friendly and personal.

However, I think it’s a mistake to discount the poetry itself. I am very much reminded of beatnik artists, dabbling in a variety of mediums. Even if you discover one is not your favourite, you miss part of the experience if you don’t embrace it as a whole.

While I could see myself keeping a written copy of this to flip through, I definitely recommend listening to an audio copy. Montgomery reads the work himself, and it’s no surprise that his voice suits it well.

As a final note, I followed this reading with checking out his podcast (also DKMH) and if you enjoy this collection, I suggest you check out the podcast as well.

Dude is writing from his heart and I dig it. I often find poetry unyieldingly pretentious but I didn’t feel that here. I could relate to a lot of what he was sharing and I appreciate his candidness about his mental health issues. Grateful to him for his part of ending the stigma.

Hearing him read his poetry - rather then me hearing my own voice read it in my head - was touching and hypnotic.

Thank you to Dacre Montgomery, Andrews McMeel Audio, and #NetGallery for an AudioARC of #DKMH in exchange for an honest review. Review will be posted on NetGallery, Goodreads, and Facebook.

I went in with great expectations knowing about Montgomery's intense visual allusion in his works on other media. And the introduction was a sure hit - very insightful and seemed to lay the stage for the greatness that could possibly ensue. While his works were a good enough effort, there was something missing. It had an overall, wonderful appeal for the scope of the imagination but somehow fell short. This is however a good foundation and there is a possibility that it will improve in his coming works. I look forward to more.

I do believe that the reader will benefit more if they listen to the audiobook (because his voice is heavenly and capable of catching and portraying all the myriad of emotions), along with actually reading the ebook. I think that the game of words that Montgomery puts at play here reflects well the bipolar-aspect he mentions in his introduction.
3/5 stars

If only the whole collection was as well written as the introductions, this would have been a 5 star collection. I truly enjoyed listening to the poetry, as this was an audiobook, more than I would have enjoyed reading it, especially with the poet as the narrator. Listening to the poet read his words made the works more meaningful, they were read as they were meant to be read, therefore as the reader we are able to hear the poems as Dacre intended them to be heard. This collection touches on the nature of feelings including Love, Anxiety, and Fear (not exactly in that order), as well as the way music has formed the poet, and the last poem touches on the Spirit. I enjoyed the poetry in general and will do more exploring of the poet's work

[Thank you NetGalley, Dacre Montgomery, and the publisher for the free audiobook]

This small book of verse by the Stranger Things actor may appeal to fans of the show moreso than poetry fans. While it's well-read and enjoyable to listen to, the rhyming structure is forced and the effort somewhat sophomoric, sounding more like song lyrics with a straightforward repetitive style. The actor's introductory essay is perhaps more insightful than the verse, but it will be interesting to see where he can go from here if he continues to publish his writing. Montgomery should not be discounted though, as there are glimmers of visual allusion and a notable flare for expression, but overall it reads like student work that earned an A for effort.

I tried to enjoy it in both audio and ebook but after the first few pages it became like a game. The game where a person says a word and the next person quickly response with a word, this game can continue until you decide to stop.

Although after I wrote that maybe that was the idea. Early on in the collection it is noted that the author suffers from bi polarism and if that was the intention to capture the internal battle then it was done well. But if that wasn’t the intention then it’s reads and sounds like gibberish, like my toddler talking in riddles.

I will say that the author has a playlist that should be played while listening/ reading to the collection. It does add a nice interactive feature.

I listened to this book as an audiobook and I have to say some of the poetry was dull. I wasn’t super interested in it but, a select few poems in the collection did stick out to me. I probably would’ve enjoyed it if I was reading it on ebook or in physical form. Nonetheless I’m not going to lower the rating based off of my audiobook experience.

I really wanted to like this because I love Dacre Montgomery. The best thing about it was the narration of the audiobook. He has a great voice.

The poetry just wasn't what I'm used to reading. I'm an English teacher, and I am willing to give all poetry a try. But this, at times, seemed forced. It doesn't bother me that it's about mental illness. Sylvia Plath is one of my absolute favorites. There are some lines that are great! But the momentum doesn't carry throughout. I hope Montgomery will continue writing and studying the craft of poetry. No one is perfect to begin with.

Thanks netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've never been a fan of poetry but liked the idea of listening to the author reading his own poems.
But I'm not sure if this was one long poem or it just went from one poem to the next, so maybe reading a poetry book myself would be better.
I did like the voice of the author for the narration, but I would need to read the poems to be able to say more about them.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I started with great expectations of this book, it’s sad to admit that it wasn’t memorable. The introduction makes you expect more from the book that it actually is. Most poems didn’t make more sense or felt like most rhymes unnecessary. I really do appreciate his work as an actor and how open he is to write his point of view but this wasn’t for me. I do appreciate poetry for mental health.