☆☆3.5 stars☆☆

"today I think in black and white and feel nothing but grey"

Grey Matters, Kristen Costello's debut poetry collection, captures life from the perspective of those who suffer from anxiety, depression and eating disorders with heartbreaking accuracy. As someone who has struggled with these issues, several of the poems resonated with what I have experienced. Of course, every individual has a different story to tell and this collection reflects one woman's personal journey. These poems speak from Costello's soul, through the pain and the missteps, the ups and the downs, showing tremendous courage in her writing and in her willingness to share her story with the world.

Musings and streams of consciousness characterize the writing style with the narration feeling like a conversation one would have while drinking a cup of coffee with a friend. Some of the poems read like letters to the people who made a difference to the author on her path towards recovery and are filled with honest thoughts and gratitude. The title of the book and the gorgeous artwork on the cover fit perfectly with the tone of the writing and beautifully portray the inherent conflicts within the mind.

One of my favorite poems and perhaps the most metaphorically powerful:

💌The Eighth Day💌
"Everything bloomed for one week – seven pinkish-white days before spring retreated back into winter’s open mouth. For once, I want eight great days all lined up in a row – dominoes glued to a table glued to the floor. I want flowers erupting from my feet, twisting their stems up my legs, looping up and across my waist, my arms, my chest, until you can’t see my core through all the growth."

Some of my other personal favorites that I most identify with or find meaningful:
💌Fixation💌 a very real look at obsessive thoughts
💌Reflection💌 a reminder that I'm not alone in my fears of not being enough
💌Staring Contest💌 a focus on the need to bravely face one's faults in order to conquer them
💌Rebirth💌 a hope for new beginnings

And I love this one for its beautiful simplicity:

💌Cracking Cocoons💌
"Today, I’ve become a butterfly uprising – black and orange, pink and white, a flutter of fervor a flurry of flight."

The poems in this collection emphasize the importance of awareness and discussion of mental illness yet they also find light within the shadows and darkness. Kristen Costello has struggled but she also offers the reader hope towards healing through the growth she has achieved. Her poetry shows her strength and resilience, her optimism shines through her despair and her ability to rise when she falls motivates others to move forward. I believe many of her poems would be valuable for use as positive affirmations and I plan to refer back to them often.

"No, you are not yet where you want to be – but you aren’t where you were and that’s worth celebrating."

** Special thanks to author Kristen Costello and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Quotes subject to change at time of publication. Available March 22, 2023. **

This book is a collection of poetry on a number of different mental health topics. The poems are split into categories based on mental health type, such as anxiety, eating disorders, etc. Many of the poems are short and easy to read. A lot of them are also super relatable or thought provoking. Overall, great job!

As someone who deals with mental illness this book really interested me.
Beautifully written and definitely made me feel not alone.

4 stars read !

I don't think I've ever read a poetry collection quite like this one
It is stunning !
I've found myself needing a few seconds to register the words, because of how impactful they were !
The anxiety section might be the best description of what it feels like I've ever read
My favorite poems : Performance - Fixation - Lost Leisure - Escape - Freeway
Definitely worth the read, and I'm very excited for her other book coming this year !

I have not been an avid reader of poetry for quite some time. However, upon discovering Grey Matters by Kristen Costello, the title and premise resonated with me and compelled me to pick it up. The collection delves into various facets of mental illness. Please be aware of potential triggers for depression, self-harm, and eating disorders.

Costello's writing style struck a chord, mirroring how my mind processes and navigates mental illness. Early in the collection, certain poems evoke the sensations of floating and flying, contrasting the desire for stability and groundedness.

One poem, "L BS," reminded me of my personal encounters with medical professionals who failed to grasp what an eating disorder looks like. Among the many standout pieces, "Going To The Mailbox" perfectly encapsulates my experiences of the short walk to getting the mail becoming a trek up Mount Everest.
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As the book progresses, the final section focuses on healing, which feels like a liberating and triumphant journey after having fought the battles of mental illness. The concluding poems beautifully convey themes of rebirth and flight, employing vivid and captivating imagery that lingers in the reader's mind. Grey Matters has rekindled my interest in poetry. I am grateful for the authentic, personal connection it has allowed me to make.

Reading and reflecting on this collection of poems was an incredible experience. Each poem was insightful and thought provoking and I especially appreciated the courage it took to be as vulnerable as Kristen Costello was with her writing. So many of the poems in this collection made me seen - which in turn also helped me feel a little less alone. A number of the poems also gave me hope! My husband and I had some great chats around the topics of mental health, anxiety, and depression as a result of this book; it opened the lines of communication and helped each of us express ourselves more clearly on these topics. I can’t wait to purchase this book so that I can reread it and see what other treasures I uncover.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Poetry is one of my favorite writing styles and this was a nice collection on mental health.
I really enjoyed the section on mental health. For me it was very relatable and I felt understood.
I enjoyed the other sections too, they just didn’t resonate with me as much.

One of the few poetry books I will actually feature on my blog. 10 out of 10.
Really appreciated the content warnings and separating the poems by “trigger”
They were all beautifully written and hit home with me.

I picked up Grey Matters on a whim when I saw it on NetGalley, and this far exceeded my expectations.

Costello's pieces are full of emotion, unfiltered honesty, and hope. I've grappled with all of the themes—depression, anorexia, self-deprecation, and eventual acceptance and healing—and she writes from the perspective of someone who has obviously lived through them all.

While many of the poems are only a sentence or two long, they are all beautiful and compelling in their own concise way.

I recommend this to anyone who's ever struggled with self-esteem, burnout, depression, or anorexia.

****!!Trigger warnings: talks of mental health with themes on depression/anxiety, ED, and SH!!****

Struggle is common, but talking about the experiences is not. Kristen Costello shows courage in her works by not downplaying their reality for the reader. We travel with them on the journey through lowest lows, through messy mediums, and then back to a place where creation and living can thrive again in this collection of poems.
There are four sections relating to anxiety, depression, eating disorder, and healing. It proves that life can be ups and downs, but remember: It can always go up again.

I personally found multiple poems relatable, and was touched by all of them in some way. My favorite pieces are: Performance, Processes Power, Missing Out, and Destructive. Id like to leave an honorary mention to "Numeric Neuroses" which displays the imagery I believe many women have encountering any form of Healthcare, especially with an ED, and how it feels to go unseen and untreated, while being gaslight about being "just fine".

There are four sections relating to anxiety, depression, eating disorder, and healing. It proves that life can be ups and downs, but remember: It can always go up again.

I really enjoyed this collection. It was a fast and easy read. I loved the way this collection was honest and portrayed mental illness the right way. I could relate to most of the poems and as a person with mental illness, it was comforting that someone feels the same way you do.
The poems Lost Leisure, Missing Out, Going to the Mailbox and Achievements are my favourite ones. These show you what living with depression really is and some things you just can't explain why they happen. But they do and these show you how it is.
I got a bit lost in the last section of the collection, but I liked the message of hope and that you can heal no matter what.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC.

I liked how the poems began in darkness and ended in healing. The ones on eating disorders and healing definitely felt more heartfelt than the ones on anxiety and depression, and that's coming from someone who's struggled with the same since childhood. Some poems were two short--one was 2 lines, another 3 very tiny lines, and those are not poems in my opinion. They are fleeting thoughts that belong on social media and shouldn't be included in a book for sale. I would have been disappointed if I bought this, but that's a matter of personal taste. I know other poets, like Rupi Kaur, do this and still have quite a wonderful following. So don't let that deter you! Overall, I think the description is correct in that a lot of people will be able to connect with this collection, so I reviewed fairly at 4 stars, but I unfortunately didn't connect with it the way I hoped.