It has been quite some time since I have written poetry, however I was drawn to the content with this one. I found the prose to be quite meaningful and therapeutic having experienced this type of trauma in my past. There was one of the poems towards the end that felt like something that I could have written from this type period. This author is brave and hopefully this book helps others deal with their emotions. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

Bei diesem Buch handelt es sich um eine kleine Sammlung an Gedichten zum Thema sexueller Kindesmissbrauch. Die Autorin beschreibt in diesen Gedichten eindrücklich ihre eigenen Erlebnisse; wie der Missbrauch stattfand, wie es ihr dabei ging, wie er entdeckt wurde und was für Folgen diese Erlebnisse für die Autorin hatten. Dabei spricht sie auch unschöne Wahrheiten aus und rüttelt die lesende Person wach. Sie zeigt an ihrem eigenen Beispiel auf, wie leider immer noch sehr häufig mit innerfamiliärem Missbrauch umgegangen wird und wie schrecklich dies für die Opfer ist.

Mich haben diese Gedichte sehr berührt, bestürzt und nachdenklich gestimmt. Ich hätte sehr gerne noch mehr von der Autorin gelesen und erfahren, wie es ihr später erging. Ich hoffe, dass die Autorin mit der Zeit noch weitere Gedichte veröffentlichen wird, um auf dieses wichtige Thema aufmerksam zu machen. Ich vergebe sehr empfehlenswerte 5 Sterne für den Mut, diese Gedichte zu veröffentlichen, und ihre Ehrlichkeit.


In English:

This book is a small collection of poems on the subject of child sexual abuse. The author impressively describes her own experiences in these poems; how the abuse took place, how she felt about it, how it was discovered and what consequences these experiences had for the author. She also speaks unpleasant truths and shakes the person reading awake. Using her own example, she shows how, unfortunately, abuse within the family is still very often dealt with and how terrible this is for the victims.

These poems touched me very much, shocked me and made me think. I would have loved to read more from the author and find out what happened to her later. I hope that over time the author will publish more poems to raise awareness of this important issue. I give it a highly recommended 5 stars for the courage to publish these poems and their honesty.

Proof of the Sun by Eve Ott is a deeply personal collection of prose detailing childhood sexual abuse suffered at the hands of a family member. While it is an emotionally difficult read, there is some satisfaction to be had in knowing that Ott has come out on the other side, and in the hope that bringing these powerful memories to light has had a cathartic effect towards a deeper healing.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Querencia Press for an ARC.

Beautiful and utterly heartbreaking. The poems were both delicate and immensely powerful at the same time. I think the format choice was excellent, as every word and sentence in Ott's poems held tremendous weight, emotion, and depth.

Thank you NetGalley and Querencia Press for the chance to read and review this book!

There isn't much I can say, except that while the book is well written it's concerning an absolutely horrific subject. It also draws a lot of attention to the fact that children are so horribly let down by the people who should protect them.

The author's pain could be felt through every line in each piece of poetry she wrote. My heart was breaking with every turn of the page. The topic also brought me back to my own experiences and through each poem I felt grief, sadness, pain, and even some anger.

Proof of the Sun is a heartbreaking and jarring look into the mind of a child who has been sexually abused by a relative. Someone who was supposed to love and protect them, but instead they violate and scared them, leaving the child to carry the loneliness, guilt, shame and sadness throughout their entire lives.
This was an exposing and heroic expression of confusion and pain that one goes through when innocence is stolen by someone you are supposed to trust. The collection is written so flawlessly that you are transported into the younger version of yourself which takes you to a place of purity and empathy that makes collection so gut wrenching. This is a profound declaration of vulnerability and evolution of strength by the author.

This book was tough. I would recommend reading this book when you are in a good headspace because it is brutally honest and so sad. I loved how this author brought awareness to this sensitive topic through the art of poetry. There were some parts that hit home for me because I too am a survivor of this kind of abuse.

Thank you Querencia Press!

"Proof of the Sun chronicles the long term effects of childhood sexual abuse by a family member that can, and often do, extend into adulthood. These stanzas mirror the ways society tiptoes around what happens after abuse and how the victim survives."

This reminds me a lot of My Dark Vanessa. Very difficult but important read. Some poems in the collection, I had to sit and just process it a little bit and some were very hard to get through.

Please check the trigger warning before jumping in!

I'm not one for poetry, but I do like literary fiction which this read as. It's raw and delicate, something I love. No critiques.

Wow. This was an eloquent telling of childhood sexual abuse. There was just enough detail for the reader to understand and empathize. I was worried that I would be triggered because of my experiences, but I was okay. I could feel the emotions without reliving them. I have already recommended this book to friends.

Eve Ott you are brilliant. I am so impressed with the book. I don't have much experience with poetry but this book took a toll on me. I am shedding silent tears while reading it. Every girl might at some point might have been gone through this. I don't know if I am using the wrong words appreciate it but this book is so beautifully written and heart wrenching. I Love this book

This is very short poems collection but yet feels powerful and raw. Author has penned down her own experience of childhood sexual abuse so it is personal and can make one feel overwhelmed.

Almost every woman experiences abuse in her life, physical, mental or sexual. What makes it even worse is we can not be open about it and this poem collection mirrors that beautifully.

"You must never ever tell anyone what you told me today, she continued.

And if it was Uncle who did something bad, why was I suddenly feeling at fault?"

It is always a woman's fault. A skirt is too short, she was asking for it, why was she out at midnight — hundreds of excuses come when it comes to abuse but what if a family member is the abuser? Then it is all hush-hush. Sad but true.

I really liked it for voicing the abuse in ways nobody can deny but I feel it could have been better if it had been more poetic.

Thank you Netgalley and querencia press for ARC in exchange of an honest review.