The book I needed first

We are more familiar with the language of mental health than ever before. We speak more openly about anxiety, trauma, grief, burnout, resilience, and growth. Yet the language of therapy, diagnosis, and professional writing can still feel too neat for the reality of human experience.

Life is rarely neat. Neither are grief, motherhood, longing, trauma, change, love, loss, or becoming. Sometimes we need words that are less polished and more honest. Sometimes we need creative expression to reach the parts of ourselves that ordinary language cannot quite hold.

That is where the poems in Seventeen Shots of Life in Five Acts began, therefore they were never written to impress anyone. They were private fragments, written over 20 years at different stages of my life, as a way to express myself and make sense of sorrow, joy, change, and everything in between.

The becoming behind the book

For a long time, the poems were tucked away. During a period of transition, I felt drawn to read them again and the words still spoke to me. They carried a feeling, a message, and a truth that continued to resonate. That is when the idea for the collection began. If these poems had stood the test of time and helped me make sense of life again and again, perhaps they might offer something to others too.

The poems are free, raw, and emotionally direct. The first two poems serve as an opening scene, introducing two fundamental truths: nothing stays the same forever, and despite the presence of others around us, we are ultimately alone. Overall, the poems explore the ways we change, lose, learn, hope, and become through desire, heartbreak, loneliness, motherhood, ambition, fear, love, and loss. Each poem stands alone, but the order was chosen intentionally to tell a story, reflecting the messages carried by each life moment. This is why I recommend, somewhat unconventionally, reading the book from beginning to end.

The original illustrations bring the emotional world of the poems to life and offer a more immersive, visual journey through the book. Each illustration was given its own colour theme as a creative nod to one of the book’s central themes: impermanence, the idea that everything changes.

Who is this book for?

This book is as much for people who love poetry and for people who do not usually read poetry at all.

It is for anyone who reflects on life, because at its heart, Seventeen Shots of Life in Five Acts is another way of having a conversation with ourselves and others about mental health, identity, emotion, resilience, and what it means to live a human life. Poetry can give language to experiences that are hard to explain. It does not need to diagnose or solve. It can simply say: this is what it feels like. That can be deeply validating. 

It may also be of interest to therapists, psychologists, counsellors, and other mental health professionals who want to use creative writing, reflection, or poetry to open meaningful conversations with their clients, or as a thoughtful addition to their clinic waiting room.

Order the book

Seventeen Shots of Life in Five Acts is available now.
If you are drawn to poetry, personal growth, or the connection between creativity and mental health, I warmly invite you to read it.

You can order your hard copy here and your e-book here. 

If you would like a signed copy, you are very welcome to email me directly and I would be happy to arrange one for you.

And if the book speaks to you, I would be truly grateful if you shared it with someone who might find meaning in its pages. You are also very welcome to email me with your thoughts about the book -  I would love to hear your reflections.