With temperatures slowly dropping, settling down with a cup of hot chocolate by the window while snowflakes float to the ground seems like a comforting thought. A good book in hand, and you have a perfect evening. Do you need a book recommendation? How about an enticing poetry book written by a fellow Warrior?
Erin Murray, a 4th year Environmental Studies student at UW, self-published Show me your scars in late August. This collection of poetry, which has received outstanding reviews, guides us through the many complicated emotions we must face.
The scars on our bodies and minds are openly shared here. As Murray describes, “each marred page is a beautiful disaster of what makes us human”.
I can guarantee that once a page is opened, the flow of turning pages will not want to be disrupted. The vulnerability in each phase and section, makes you let out a gasp of surprise, a shuddering breath, or a crack of a grin in the span of minutes. I can easily see Murray writing every word with so much care and authenticity in the late nights with her fuel of coffee.
The first section, the bereft, drowns you with the pain and vulnerability life can bring. Especially during those late nights, when the darkness of the room and your mind consume you.
The second section, the bliss, fills the void left by the last section with hopefulness and love. Blushing cheeks and pounding hearts are a guarantee for this section.
The third section, the broken hearts, turns you around swiftly with its heartbreak, contrasting what the second section expressed/put forth/discussed etc. The pain and scars etched with this heartbreak are explained so thoroughly, it’s as if your heart was scraped of the feelings she developed.
The fourth section, the birds and the bees, as the name suggests, brings forth desire and passion. The beauty of lust and the passions of the night wash away the quietness the first section described. I don’t want to reveal too much of this section so as to not take away from the surprise and satisfaction.
The fifth section, the battles, covers not only the shared experiences of the author’s battles but of the world’s. Her cries of pain, and worries for the good of the world, bring forth a realization that we all live life differently, and that’s ok. This section is my personal favorite, as the raw vulnerability soothes me, especially in a beautiful poem where she apologizes for the sadness each poem in this section can bring. Well Murray, I am sorry to say I do not accept your apology. For there is nothing to be sorry about, your hurt and anguish was the antiseptic I needed for my ignored wounds.
The final section, the beautiful souls, is the departing warm hug we all need from the roller coaster of emotions the other sections bring. Each poem here thanks and appreciates many people with characteristics you are sure to relate to your own life. A grateful poem to her mother left me in tears. I quickly ran to my own mother to share the same words I wish I could express as well as Murray had. Her fears and love for others are so real and shared. I can guarantee there will be a poem that will sound just like the thoughts you once had.
Show me your scars is just the book we need right now. Where in a world we are isolated from one another, vulnerability can be shared like this. It isn’t your typical sad poetry book that leaves you feeling heavy and hollow at the same time. It brings hope, despair, desire, passion, love, and so much more in pages that I wish never ran out.
The illustrations by Zoë Peters blend so well with the poems, it’s as if they clothed the raw naked poems.
This is a book you will read and never get tired of. Pick it up months and years from today, and it will still be relevant. These emotions we face are real and won’t disappear. So why not talk about it? That is exactly what Show me your scars does in the most beautiful way possible. Grab this book right now on Amazon and Kindle, and trust me, you will not be sorry.
Rating: 5/5 stars
