DKMH

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]

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.

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.

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 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.