While this audiobook was not for me, I can see others enjoying this work. The tone and accent of the author's voice was hard for me to keep up with and I found myself drifting out of focus. Her poems felt religious and uplifting for me.

This audiobook was a big NO for me. I'm sorry to say that, but I didn't like it. I felt that the author could have written her thoughts in a different form than poetry. My opinion is that the narration is too accented for a general audience to like. I say some will like it and some will not. It didn't work for me, as it didn't go well with the poems. I would give it two stars for positivity, theme, and some thoughts that I liked.

I checked out the author's music on Youtube, and I like it.

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

4.5 stars

The audiobook version of this book was musical and captivating. Read by the author, this production allowed for the piece to bloom in her own voice, with her own cadence and accent in a way that made the book feel all the more rich. Coming directly from the poet herself, this felt like the way the poetry was meant to be consumed. I highly recommend it.

The rhythm and the pacing of the poems were really beautiful, and overall the themes of dreams, sorrow, identity, and connectedness were poignant. There were moments of the book, pieces of poems that felt a bit like platitudes, but overall the poems felt original and authentic and were varied in both structure and content. I was especially interested in the emphasis the poet placed on the exploration of the body and the connection to the truth of one's own body. Especially as a marginalized woman, this aspect of the poetry really resonated with me.

I was not able to access the accompanying artwork, though I'm sure it's very beautiful as well.

Thanks to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC.

This one just wasn't for me. I liked that it was uplifting and positive, focused on fulfilling our potential as individuals and as a human species. But the poems were filled with that brand of woo spirituality that doesn't connect with me and in fact actively annoys me. That said, the poems were uplifting, and I've actually discovered the author's music through this - it's bluegrassy, soulful folk and I'm really enjoying it (check her out on Spotify as Valerie June). It should be no surprise then that I really liked her reading her poems - she has a great voice and performed well. I just didn't like the poems themselves.