BOOK REVIEW                                                                                           

Title: Awake – Poetry for the Healing

Author: Felicia Clark

Publisher / Publication date: Measure Life in Bookmarks LLC / April 2, 2025

Language: English

Format / # of Pages: softcover 113 pages, e-book

Genre: Poetry

ISBN/Library of Congress Control Number: 979-8-9919827-0-2/2025900351

Reviewed by Rebecca Swanson

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A poetry collection that cradles the reader on a journey from innocence to renewal

Awake: Poetry for the Healing is a thoughtfully curated collection that cradles the reader on a journey from innocence to renewal. Felicia Clark’s collection presents poems that are raw, inviting, or challenging and demonstrate a keen sense of storytelling of the author’s real-life circumstances.

The book is arranged in a sensible progression: Innocence, Hurting, Healing, and Renew. The following are snippets from each section that resonated with this reviewer, and which offer a ringside seat to the author’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Innocence – The poem “Life Size” recalls carefree, innocent childhood days, then transitions to an awareness of childhood lost. “The world was now a stranger/too intolerable to belong.” The charred doll is tossed aside, but still: “She clings. I guide. We embrace. We cry. We walk.”

Hurting – In this section, personal agony is realized. “Crows Never Forget” is among the poems that punch the reader in the chest, demanding attention to the pain of being ignored. “I fill my trembling palms/with jagged gravel stones/their edges slicing new fate lines/the psychics can’t read.” Then, years later, “his scent hovers, inviting and dangerous/ - I feel my hairs rise and molt.”

Healing – For many women, healing begins when they realize their own self-worth. “Morning Affirmations” is a succinct, five-line directive that commands “Ladies” to break from the shackles of service to “unhealthy men.”

Renew – No poem in this section is more indicative of the full circle of life than “Ouroboros.” From the first line “ash to air” to its last, “death to ash,” the poem handily encapsulates the concept of renewal. Every line between the first and last takes the reader on a ride over life’s hills and valleys, making the reader acutely aware of the brevity of one’s existence.

Awake is a collection that evokes a myriad of emotions – no holds barred – that attest to the author’s storytelling skills and bold honesty. Because Clark is so adept at that, this reviewer found the infrequent illustrations distracting and perhaps not needed.

For those who have experienced excruciating life challenges, the hope, healing, and light offered in Awake may encourage and perhaps reveal new insights to renewal.