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Every Word You Cannot Say
*May this book find the person it needs to. May they find every word they were looking for.*
**I know you don’t want to talk sometimes. Sometimes because it hurts and sometimes because you’re just not supposed to talk about what you want to talk about. Sometimes it can be hard to say, “this is beautiful,” when no one else can see what you see. Or, “Here, this is where the pain is.”
But some part of you knows, the truth about the words you cannot say is that they only hurt until you say them. They only hurt until the person who needs to hear them, hears them. Because we are human, and the closest we’ve ever come to showing each other who we really are, and how we love, is with words.
So I’m going to try to say to you here, what I wish you’d say to me too. Please.
Listen. We can change things.
Here.
**I know you don’t want to talk sometimes. Sometimes because it hurts and sometimes because you’re just not supposed to talk about what you want to talk about. Sometimes it can be hard to say, “this is beautiful,” when no one else can see what you see. Or, “Here, this is where the pain is.”
But some part of you knows, the truth about the words you cannot say is that they only hurt until you say them. They only hurt until the person who needs to hear them, hears them. Because we are human, and the closest we’ve ever come to showing each other who we really are, and how we love, is with words.
So I’m going to try to say to you here, what I wish you’d say to me too. Please.
Listen. We can change things.
Here.
232 pages, Paperback
Published March 5, 2019
609 people are currently reading
12039 people want to read
About the author
Iain S. Thomas
22 books1,435 followers"Iain S. Thomas is the #1 bestselling author of I Wrote This For You and Intentional Dissonance. He wrote his first book, Ignite, at the age of 23 for the Markham clothing store. It won the Grand Prix at the First Paper House Art Of Design Awards and the only craft prize awarded that year, in the design category, at the national design/advertising awards (The Loeries).
As a creative director, he’s a champion for innovative design and communication for his clients which have included Nike, Levi’s, Johnny Walker, The Design Indaba, MTN, apple and many more, from Los Angeles, to Amsterdam, to Johannesburg, to Cape Town. His work has spanned everything from monuments to biodegradable posters.
In 2009, for his work as the author of the art/photography project “I Wrote This For You”, he was voted one of the top 5 finalists in the world in the “Best Blogger To Follow” category on mashable.com under his online pseudonym, pleasefindthis.
The project, which has proven incredibly popular across the world and gone on to become a best selling book, has also afforded him numerous exciting opportunities, including an invitation to dinner with the US Ambassador to South Africa, Donald Gipps as a consultant on digital development within South Africa, and a speaking spot at TEDx Johannesburg.
Through the project, he was also able to have skateboards delivered to The Uganda Skateboard Union on behalf of Stacy Peralta, director of Dogtown And Z-Boys and Riding Giants and he’s previously acted as a creative consultant to Brian Wayne Transeau or “BT” (whose previous collaborators include Peter Gabriel, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and David Bowie, amongst others) on his last album, If The Stars Are Eternal, So Are You And I.
His work has won numerous local and international awards and can be found in Communication Arts, Design Indaba Magazine, Ad Vantage Magazine, bestadsontv.com, Contagious Magazine, Archive, The University of Pretoria’s Permanent Design Collection, X-ings: Shaping Culture Through Design Exhibition, The United Nations Gallery of Sustainable Communication, TEDx, Heso Magazine (Japan) and http://www.inpursuitofelegance.com
Iain’s work focuses on non-traditional media in all its forms. He has never once really and truly enjoyed a long walk on a beach." - source
As a creative director, he’s a champion for innovative design and communication for his clients which have included Nike, Levi’s, Johnny Walker, The Design Indaba, MTN, apple and many more, from Los Angeles, to Amsterdam, to Johannesburg, to Cape Town. His work has spanned everything from monuments to biodegradable posters.
In 2009, for his work as the author of the art/photography project “I Wrote This For You”, he was voted one of the top 5 finalists in the world in the “Best Blogger To Follow” category on mashable.com under his online pseudonym, pleasefindthis.
The project, which has proven incredibly popular across the world and gone on to become a best selling book, has also afforded him numerous exciting opportunities, including an invitation to dinner with the US Ambassador to South Africa, Donald Gipps as a consultant on digital development within South Africa, and a speaking spot at TEDx Johannesburg.
Through the project, he was also able to have skateboards delivered to The Uganda Skateboard Union on behalf of Stacy Peralta, director of Dogtown And Z-Boys and Riding Giants and he’s previously acted as a creative consultant to Brian Wayne Transeau or “BT” (whose previous collaborators include Peter Gabriel, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and David Bowie, amongst others) on his last album, If The Stars Are Eternal, So Are You And I.
His work has won numerous local and international awards and can be found in Communication Arts, Design Indaba Magazine, Ad Vantage Magazine, bestadsontv.com, Contagious Magazine, Archive, The University of Pretoria’s Permanent Design Collection, X-ings: Shaping Culture Through Design Exhibition, The United Nations Gallery of Sustainable Communication, TEDx, Heso Magazine (Japan) and http://www.inpursuitofelegance.com
Iain’s work focuses on non-traditional media in all its forms. He has never once really and truly enjoyed a long walk on a beach." - source
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,079 reviews
January 19, 2019
This is the book equivalent of a successful therapy session, and I mean it in the best possible way. I don't know if I should call this one very long poem, poems, or not poetry at all. But it worked. I usually prefer more traditional poems, at least in format (like rhymes, and a poem being an actual poem and not a title-less series of a couple of sentences randomly structured in lines), but this time I didn't really mind it. This book talks about being aware of the moment, of our life, of everything we feel... it gives perspective, it tells us it's okay to be who we are, to feel what we feel and to want what we want, and it does it in a way that did indeed reach my soul. I didn't know before starting it, but this was something I needed to read.
December 9, 2019
Rating poetry feels arbitrary.
Indeed, even after giving this five stars, I feel like that's not quite what I meant. Reviewing poetry also feels equally as such, but this moved me in a way I felt compelled to share.
Poetry is a very individual experience-- Every single person has a unique experience to the way it is written. No two interpretations of any one poem are the same. When a poet writes a poem, they are, in essence, writing to themselves. Poems are personal. There is a piece of the author within every word. Poetry tells many a story, and it tells them through a unique medium of thought, emotion, and word choice.
Sometimes those stories are happy. Sometimes angry. Sometimes sad. And sometimes, those poems are stories we wish we didn't have to tell.
When I opened my laptop to write this review, I didn't have one definitive thing to say. There is no single way to read and interpret poetry, just like there's not one way to review it. So as I type, I figured the best way to review it was to talk about how it made me feel.
When I finished the final page of this book, when I closed the cover and leaned back in my bed, I cried. No pretty tears, delicate and waifish like Hollywood seems so convinced people cry in real life. I cried honest tears. Ugly tears. In my tears, I shed every emotion that's been roiling in my chest for a long time. Grief. Bitterness. Hope. Relief. And to someone who doesn't "get" it (if there's even anything that can truly be got from poetry), they might ask me, "Why?" I can tell you why: I felt seen.
Actually, "seen" is putting it mildly. It felt like someone pulled back the shower curtain while I was in it. I felt exposed. And I felt vulnerable.
I have struggled my whole life. From abuse from my peers, to emotional neglect, to mental health issues, to trauma inflicted on my person. I am someone who's been keeping themself together with a frayed rope, praying every day that it'll hold out a little longer. And I bury it. I bury it deep. I live in what you could call a self-imposed silence. When the world hurts me, when I am wounded, I say nothing at all. So I compartmentalize. I put it away. I deal when I am ready to deal. Sometimes, that day comes. Most of the time it doesn't.
What I read in the confines of this collection of poems felt like someone wrenching out my grief and putting it on a page for everyone to see. For the first time, I didn't have to talk about how I felt, because someone took my words and wrote them for me. And sure, it's not exactly the same. It isn't verbatim. It isn't a carbon copy of my soul, transposed through the ether into a poetry collection. But it was a connection. It was someone else, feeling many of the same things I do, thinking the same thoughts I do, and putting it down with a very clear message: That all of it was okay.
Poetry means different things to different people. Hell, it can even mean literally nothing at all to you. That's the beauty of what it is as a medium. It can be that connection, that feeling of "Someone else finally understands. Thank the stars. Thank the stars. I'm not alone."
I've said all I wanted to say, so I'll close out with one of my favourite passages from the collection:
Indeed, even after giving this five stars, I feel like that's not quite what I meant. Reviewing poetry also feels equally as such, but this moved me in a way I felt compelled to share.
Poetry is a very individual experience-- Every single person has a unique experience to the way it is written. No two interpretations of any one poem are the same. When a poet writes a poem, they are, in essence, writing to themselves. Poems are personal. There is a piece of the author within every word. Poetry tells many a story, and it tells them through a unique medium of thought, emotion, and word choice.
Sometimes those stories are happy. Sometimes angry. Sometimes sad. And sometimes, those poems are stories we wish we didn't have to tell.
When I opened my laptop to write this review, I didn't have one definitive thing to say. There is no single way to read and interpret poetry, just like there's not one way to review it. So as I type, I figured the best way to review it was to talk about how it made me feel.
When I finished the final page of this book, when I closed the cover and leaned back in my bed, I cried. No pretty tears, delicate and waifish like Hollywood seems so convinced people cry in real life. I cried honest tears. Ugly tears. In my tears, I shed every emotion that's been roiling in my chest for a long time. Grief. Bitterness. Hope. Relief. And to someone who doesn't "get" it (if there's even anything that can truly be got from poetry), they might ask me, "Why?" I can tell you why: I felt seen.
Actually, "seen" is putting it mildly. It felt like someone pulled back the shower curtain while I was in it. I felt exposed. And I felt vulnerable.
I have struggled my whole life. From abuse from my peers, to emotional neglect, to mental health issues, to trauma inflicted on my person. I am someone who's been keeping themself together with a frayed rope, praying every day that it'll hold out a little longer. And I bury it. I bury it deep. I live in what you could call a self-imposed silence. When the world hurts me, when I am wounded, I say nothing at all. So I compartmentalize. I put it away. I deal when I am ready to deal. Sometimes, that day comes. Most of the time it doesn't.
What I read in the confines of this collection of poems felt like someone wrenching out my grief and putting it on a page for everyone to see. For the first time, I didn't have to talk about how I felt, because someone took my words and wrote them for me. And sure, it's not exactly the same. It isn't verbatim. It isn't a carbon copy of my soul, transposed through the ether into a poetry collection. But it was a connection. It was someone else, feeling many of the same things I do, thinking the same thoughts I do, and putting it down with a very clear message: That all of it was okay.
Poetry means different things to different people. Hell, it can even mean literally nothing at all to you. That's the beauty of what it is as a medium. It can be that connection, that feeling of "Someone else finally understands. Thank the stars. Thank the stars. I'm not alone."
I've said all I wanted to say, so I'll close out with one of my favourite passages from the collection:
You are not a moment. Moments are just moments. You are so much more.
May 29, 2020
2.5 stars
This poetry collection is all about learning to love and forgive yourself before doing anything else in your life.
There are some hidden gems in here. This book made me think quite a bit. However I actually didn’t like most of the poems in the second half.
I don’t read a lot of poetry because I don’t have the patience to stop reading and dissect whatever the poet is trying to say. So when I read, I generally gravitate toward novels instead, as I love to be entertained. This poetry collection called me though, and I couldn’t resist reading it right away.
I was really surprised when I loved the first half! I liked a lot of poems, especially some sentences. After that the poems started to feel repetitive and boring. Some concepts were also a bit weird? I can’t believe I rolled my eyes at a poetry collection!
The design was extremely cute and I liked the colors. Some cool things of this collection included pictures made of poems and a double page reflected poem that encourages you to put a flower between those pages.
I’m sure people who love poetry will enjoy this book, so I recommend it if you need a quick poetry style that delivers many important life messages.
I received an advanced reader copy through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
Forgive yourself for being you—
you have done nothing wrong and tomorrow is
another chance.
This poetry collection is all about learning to love and forgive yourself before doing anything else in your life.
Your story is special.
And whether you know it or not, you are adding new
words to it every single day.
If things are good, they will change. If things are bad,
they will change.
Because change is the nature of every story.
There are some hidden gems in here. This book made me think quite a bit. However I actually didn’t like most of the poems in the second half.
In your head, in the dream, you are both the monster and
the person the monster is chasing.
You are your fear and your love and you are the
embodiment of all the things you feel.
Only you hold you back, or push you forward.
I don’t read a lot of poetry because I don’t have the patience to stop reading and dissect whatever the poet is trying to say. So when I read, I generally gravitate toward novels instead, as I love to be entertained. This poetry collection called me though, and I couldn’t resist reading it right away.
I know that at least once, if not several times, someone you knew woke up in the middle of the night thinking of you and wondering what became of you.
I was really surprised when I loved the first half! I liked a lot of poems, especially some sentences. After that the poems started to feel repetitive and boring. Some concepts were also a bit weird? I can’t believe I rolled my eyes at a poetry collection!
The design was extremely cute and I liked the colors. Some cool things of this collection included pictures made of poems and a double page reflected poem that encourages you to put a flower between those pages.
I believe that there is a restaurant somewhere in
the universe that serves nothing but first meals
and last meals.
The first time you ate with the person you loved.
The first time you discovered you enjoy something,
you always though you’d hated, and the last time you ate
with someone, without knowing it was the last time.
I’m sure people who love poetry will enjoy this book, so I recommend it if you need a quick poetry style that delivers many important life messages.
I received an advanced reader copy through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.
July 9, 2021
I don't really have a review for this other than that it was nice. Some poems were especially deep and very relatable.
And here are a few of my favorite lines from the book:
I know that you get ink on your fingers and don’t know when it’ll come off.
I know strangers can stain your heart
in the same way.
People come with instruction booklets written on their eyelids.
—why do you talk to ghosts?
—because so often, the living don’t listen.
I hope you can close your heart like a flower between these pages.
And I’m awake to me even when I’m sleeping.
These few lines were just beautiful :)
And here are a few of my favorite lines from the book:
I know that you get ink on your fingers and don’t know when it’ll come off.
I know strangers can stain your heart
in the same way.
People come with instruction booklets written on their eyelids.
—why do you talk to ghosts?
—because so often, the living don’t listen.
I hope you can close your heart like a flower between these pages.
And I’m awake to me even when I’m sleeping.
These few lines were just beautiful :)
June 10, 2019
Just average. It had some good stuff in it that I could relate to but overall I wasn’t very into it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!
December 5, 2019
In me is a song no one can silence.
Poetry is such a personal experience on what will impact us when we read the words and what won't. We all view things differently and this is one reason I love to read poetry. I enjoy seeing how others piece together what they are experiencing and how it brings some insight into my own life. Some words hit harder than others, some collections work and some don't. For me, Every Word You Cannot Say completely worked and there were a few times tears stung my eyes.
The collection is about not only learning to love yourself and the things you cannot change but also to forgive yourself. The latter being far more difficult in some circumstances. It's about reaching for kindness and trying to see the world through the eyes of others.
The words resonated with so much meaning and I felt as if it was being spoken to me. As if a conversation of meaning was being passed back and forth . I enjoyed the format and there were a few sections I read a few times, really letting the words sink in.
What's beautiful is the meanings I attributed might be different with another pair of eyes. But as it is said in Every Word You Cannot Say, we are all Here and we all matter. There universe has a song for all of us and I look forward to reading more by Iain S. Thomas.
You cannot fix me because I am not broken. And even though everything has changed, I am still more than I've ever been.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
4 insightful stars. rtc!
January 5, 2019
This is so beautiful, it made me happy and it made me sad. I recognised myself in so much of these poems. This poems literally touched my soul and just made me content to read. I am going to pre order this now for a hardback copy because I feel I need this in my life. They are just simply beautiful and I feel would help people with mindfulness. I would give six stars if I could.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest review
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October 19, 2023
I know that you get ink
on your fingers
and don't know
when it'll come off.
I know strangers
can stain your heart
in the same way.
on your fingers
and don't know
when it'll come off.
I know strangers
can stain your heart
in the same way.
May 25, 2021
The words are full of wisdom. I can’t say this is poetry book😅 it’s like a collection of motivational words but in a creative, informal way.
This book is okay for me. Nothing extraordinary or captivating as it is sort of cliche. But still, I enjoy it.
This book is okay for me. Nothing extraordinary or captivating as it is sort of cliche. But still, I enjoy it.
November 5, 2020
I'm not the biggest fan of the newer poetry-genre, but this thing here... it's the worst of them all. I don't know what the hell this was, but it was not for me. It was the same thing over and over again throughout 230 pages. "Love yourself", "take care of yourself", so on. WE GET IT!!!! I thought this would have a little more substance than just that, but it didn't at all.
This is not to say that nobody would like this, I'm just saying this really, really was not for me. I quite hated it.
This is not to say that nobody would like this, I'm just saying this really, really was not for me. I quite hated it.
April 15, 2025
"You are an overflowing river that shifts its banks when the rains come.
That's why you cannot hold on to who you are."
February 12, 2023
*3.5/5
I believe the best way to describe this one, is to say that it feels like a combination of self help books and mantras that aim at self-soothing. I know what I said sounds weird, but I don't know how to describe it in a more fitting way.
The poems were not bad and I found some of them very relatable, plus I liked the vulnerability most of them had. But on the other hand, this relied heavily on repetition and after the second half, it felt like the author kinda "dropped the ball" and stopped caring about creating something able to touch someone, and only cared to reach a page limit.
Anyway, this wasn't bad by any means, but it's also not the best poetry collection I've read. I encourage you to read this and make up your own mind about it.
I believe the best way to describe this one, is to say that it feels like a combination of self help books and mantras that aim at self-soothing. I know what I said sounds weird, but I don't know how to describe it in a more fitting way.
The poems were not bad and I found some of them very relatable, plus I liked the vulnerability most of them had. But on the other hand, this relied heavily on repetition and after the second half, it felt like the author kinda "dropped the ball" and stopped caring about creating something able to touch someone, and only cared to reach a page limit.
Anyway, this wasn't bad by any means, but it's also not the best poetry collection I've read. I encourage you to read this and make up your own mind about it.
September 13, 2022
this book just makes me feel so seen and real… thomas really does put into words all the things i’ve never known how to say. reading this book was like seeing my soul bared on a page and it’s such a different experience from anything else i’ve ever read. it’s so touching and honest, and it’s beautifully written. i implore you to pick this up no matter what your preferred genres are; it’s one of the few books i would honestly say everyone should read in their lifetime❤️🩹
October 7, 2020
Beautiful ❣️
April 1, 2021
كتاب بيعطيك جوانح منغير الزق والزن بتاع كتب التنمية البشرية
صوتك الداخلي في كتاب
صوتك الداخلي في كتاب
January 11, 2019
The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I hope you never stop looking for you.
This was my second poetry collection by Iain S. Thomas, the first being I wrote this for you , and I must say that I really enjoyed it. I think for me it's easy to find myself in the words of this author and that's probably why I always connect with his work and appreciate it so much. I highly recommend this one!
I hope you never stop looking for you.
This was my second poetry collection by Iain S. Thomas, the first being I wrote this for you , and I must say that I really enjoyed it. I think for me it's easy to find myself in the words of this author and that's probably why I always connect with his work and appreciate it so much. I highly recommend this one!
June 19, 2025
5/5 Stars!
Beautifully written pieces of poetry bundled together, depicting aspects of love, loss and life, and giving the positive outlook on hope and healing and a means to keep calm and carry on.
Beautifully written pieces of poetry bundled together, depicting aspects of love, loss and life, and giving the positive outlook on hope and healing and a means to keep calm and carry on.
January 10, 2024
this felt like therapy. i felt seen. i felt like i wasn’t alone.
live react:
”I feel like I’m the only one who feels the things I feel, or thinks the way I think.
I’m worried that I’m taking everything too seriously, or not seriously enough.
Sometimes I want you to see me, and sometimes I want to disappear.”
”I know that you get ink on your fingers and don’t know when it’ll come off.
I know strangers can stain your heart in the same way.”
”Forgive yourself for being you— you have done nothing wrong and tomorrow is another chance.”
”Why do we hurt ourselves more, when other people hurt us?
Why do we beat ourselves up, for feeling beat up?
It’s easy to get stuck in a kind of loop of pain.
You’re hurt, so you hurt yourself some more.
But the correct response to pain, is self-love.”
live react:
”I feel like I’m the only one who feels the things I feel, or thinks the way I think.
I’m worried that I’m taking everything too seriously, or not seriously enough.
Sometimes I want you to see me, and sometimes I want to disappear.”
”I know that you get ink on your fingers and don’t know when it’ll come off.
I know strangers can stain your heart in the same way.”
”Forgive yourself for being you— you have done nothing wrong and tomorrow is another chance.”
”Why do we hurt ourselves more, when other people hurt us?
Why do we beat ourselves up, for feeling beat up?
It’s easy to get stuck in a kind of loop of pain.
You’re hurt, so you hurt yourself some more.
But the correct response to pain, is self-love.”
July 20, 2021
3.5 stars
October 13, 2022
“It hurts because we have hearts.
It hurts because we’re human and we need to hurt this way, or we’d be something else.”
It hurts because we’re human and we need to hurt this way, or we’d be something else.”
December 15, 2020
De este libro si voy a hablar y es que, es tan difícil reseñar poesía, creo que es una experiencia única para cada uno, pero en este libro me encontré. Y es que es precisamente para y por eso, te dice tantas cosas que en el fondo sabías pero no podías reconocer. Aprendes tantas perspectivas de tus propios sentimientos, lo recomiendo muchísimo, un a-must-read.
En cuanto al formato, no sé si se tome por poesía pero es arte. Encima es super ligero.
En cuanto al formato, no sé si se tome por poesía pero es arte. Encima es super ligero.
July 27, 2020
Este libro se sintió como una terapia muy necesaria. Aunque es poesía contemporanea y ya saben como me siento con ese género, puedo decir que este ha sido de mis favoritos. La forma más facil que tengo para decirlo lo mucho que me gustó es que todo lo que es este libro era algo que yo necesitaba/quería escuchar. Espero seguir leyendo al autor, porque este librito terminó siendo una joyita.
June 28, 2021
When I was 16, I went to Kuala Lumpur for the second time in my entire life and I bought a poetry book called I Wrote This For You: Just the Words
The author wrote it under a pseudonym pleasefindthis and for years, I had NO idea who wrote it. All I know is that I loved that poetry book so much that I would stick gossamer stickers of delicate pastel flowers all over its pages and I'd read page 107 over and over when I felt sad, letting the words wash over me. Therapy was expensive for a 16 year old but this book felt close enough to healing. It's still one of the most special books I own.
And guess what? Finally, today, I found out that the poet, Iain S. Thomas who wrote this AMAZING poetry book wrote that book as well!
I just couldn't contain my joy when I found out who wrote this book because it felt like a puzzle piece clicking into place. Of course, I would have loved this poetry collection, spattered with blue ink spots, emotions and tender words. Of course I should have figured out who wrote it! How could I have missed his writing style?! It is as memorable as an old friend you once loved and then moved away but the golden sound of their laughter stays. I just couldn't stop grinning because this means that Iain must be doing well enough to finally publish his poetry under his real name and I am so proud he is writing more poetry books! He deserves all the praise.
This book contains longform poetry and shape poetry (words arranged inside shapes that form images). Most of the time, it doesn't even feel like poetry at all. If you dislike modern "aesthetic" Instagram poetry that has too many blank spaces and words so far apart, you'd be happy to know that this poetry collection is the complete opposite of that. The poems run together in long spreads, looking more like letters or small stories that talk about healing, loving, forgiving and speaking up. There are beautiful blue and red minimalist illustrations that I greatly enjoyed. There's just something about Iain's writing that makes me feel so connected, you know? For the brief hour reading it, I felt very close to everyone else who may have read the same words "This page is Here to tell you that it'll be OK". It made me realize that maybe even at that moment, someone else around the world feels lonely, is hurting or crying or loving. They are Here. They are There. They are with us all when we read. The book touches on the concept of "Here", inviting readers to invent their own concept of "Here", staying grounded in the present and looking for things that matter.
Reading this book is like sitting down with the poet himself, who happens to be a really good friend of yours. You sit inside your little blanket fort with him as the fairy lights flicker warmly and the rain spatters against your window sill. You are crying because you cannot imagine healing from whatever broke your heart or ripped your soul in half. But he is talking. The poet himself is whispering to you and holding you in his arms, telling you it is going to be okay and that you are strong, you are loved and it is human to cry.
That's just how I felt reading this entire book. Being held, loved, seen and cherished. It's rare for me to find poetry that not only heals me but actually makes me feel like I should be kinder to others and heal them as well.
I am out of words to explain how much I love this.
My favourite excerpts:
"I know who I am. i am the one that looks for me. And every single day, I find me again. I find myself in the things I do and the things I notice. I find myself in crowds and in solitude. I find myself in quiet moments and at the top of tall mountains. I find myself in the tips of waves, in forests, and in the books I read. I find myself in leaves and rain and old photos. Every single day, I find me again."
"Show me how you tell someone that the thought of them spreads like a warm river through your soul, until it leaves through the eyes"
"I know a moment will come when I'm weak.
But I'll open the one
happy moment I saved today
And live to see tomorrow."
The author wrote it under a pseudonym pleasefindthis and for years, I had NO idea who wrote it. All I know is that I loved that poetry book so much that I would stick gossamer stickers of delicate pastel flowers all over its pages and I'd read page 107 over and over when I felt sad, letting the words wash over me. Therapy was expensive for a 16 year old but this book felt close enough to healing. It's still one of the most special books I own.
And guess what? Finally, today, I found out that the poet, Iain S. Thomas who wrote this AMAZING poetry book wrote that book as well!
I just couldn't contain my joy when I found out who wrote this book because it felt like a puzzle piece clicking into place. Of course, I would have loved this poetry collection, spattered with blue ink spots, emotions and tender words. Of course I should have figured out who wrote it! How could I have missed his writing style?! It is as memorable as an old friend you once loved and then moved away but the golden sound of their laughter stays. I just couldn't stop grinning because this means that Iain must be doing well enough to finally publish his poetry under his real name and I am so proud he is writing more poetry books! He deserves all the praise.
This book contains longform poetry and shape poetry (words arranged inside shapes that form images). Most of the time, it doesn't even feel like poetry at all. If you dislike modern "aesthetic" Instagram poetry that has too many blank spaces and words so far apart, you'd be happy to know that this poetry collection is the complete opposite of that. The poems run together in long spreads, looking more like letters or small stories that talk about healing, loving, forgiving and speaking up. There are beautiful blue and red minimalist illustrations that I greatly enjoyed. There's just something about Iain's writing that makes me feel so connected, you know? For the brief hour reading it, I felt very close to everyone else who may have read the same words "This page is Here to tell you that it'll be OK". It made me realize that maybe even at that moment, someone else around the world feels lonely, is hurting or crying or loving. They are Here. They are There. They are with us all when we read. The book touches on the concept of "Here", inviting readers to invent their own concept of "Here", staying grounded in the present and looking for things that matter.
Reading this book is like sitting down with the poet himself, who happens to be a really good friend of yours. You sit inside your little blanket fort with him as the fairy lights flicker warmly and the rain spatters against your window sill. You are crying because you cannot imagine healing from whatever broke your heart or ripped your soul in half. But he is talking. The poet himself is whispering to you and holding you in his arms, telling you it is going to be okay and that you are strong, you are loved and it is human to cry.
That's just how I felt reading this entire book. Being held, loved, seen and cherished. It's rare for me to find poetry that not only heals me but actually makes me feel like I should be kinder to others and heal them as well.
I am out of words to explain how much I love this.
My favourite excerpts:
"I know who I am. i am the one that looks for me. And every single day, I find me again. I find myself in the things I do and the things I notice. I find myself in crowds and in solitude. I find myself in quiet moments and at the top of tall mountains. I find myself in the tips of waves, in forests, and in the books I read. I find myself in leaves and rain and old photos. Every single day, I find me again."
"Show me how you tell someone that the thought of them spreads like a warm river through your soul, until it leaves through the eyes"
"I know a moment will come when I'm weak.
But I'll open the one
happy moment I saved today
And live to see tomorrow."
February 21, 2023
4.25/5
“Even if you do it quietly you have to give yourself the life you want.”
“Even if you do it quietly you have to give yourself the life you want.”
January 18, 2019
"There are days when everyone needs you to be strong, even if you're dying inside, and you can only cry when no one's looking because you're petrified of letting them down."
Yay, Iain S. Thomas is back with another motivational poetry collection.
Yay, Iain S. Thomas is back with another motivational poetry collection.
July 9, 2019
Felt very ruminative to read at certain points, but it was still a powerfully formatted book that I think has potential to offer a lot of comfort to people who struggle with self-acceptance.
“You are the picture you paint, of you.”
“You are the picture you paint, of you.”
December 15, 2021
this book is not to my taste it might have been good when i was 15 years old but not now. The book is full of cliché self-help lines and page fillers that don’t really say anything at all. i do not recomend this book unless you are a depressed 14 year old.
July 30, 2022
There were a few quotes in it that I could relate to but other than that its just boring. I loved the designs, it was super cute and the poetry in the pictures was really creative.
=> 2 Stars
=> 2 Stars
January 29, 2020
I don’t quite know how to review poetry, but this was a lovely poetry book. I felt connected to some of the poems, but not all. It was well worth the read though. I recommend if you enjoy poetry!
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