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Journey into the Shadow and the Sunshine

By Annabel Harz

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Worth reading 😎

A lovely collection about learning from the past without letting it shape the future.

Synopsis

Journey into the Shadow and the Sunshine continues the theme of Journey into the Dark and the Light, the first book by Annabel Harz. Disarmingly honest words and images reveal more of her personal experiences: the deep shadows of loneliness and depression; the recognition of the value of survival at her lowest point of feeling unworthy; the importance of mental and physical space in creating a safe place for personal exploration and growth; and ultimately the sunshine of wellbeing when—through sheer grit and endurance—her personal demons had been conquered and set free.
Sustained effort is required to rise out of depression once it is established as a daily state of being. The poetry and artwork in this collection exemplify the resilience required to rise above the despair of mental ill-health, and with candour and sincerity depict the internal strength which facilitates reaching a place of well-being.

"When words so incisively and uniquely capture the experiences of pain, misery, shame and heartache, it gives the mind and soul a new way of understanding these events. And perhaps, these words then help to heal." - Sonia Street

TRIGGER WARNING: This book discusses domestic violence and emotions associated with depression, including suicidal ideation.

Journey into the Shadow and the Sunshine is a collection of poems that take the readers on a journey from falling apart to discovering the beauty in putting the pieces back together.


The author dives back into a past most would want to forget – or ignore when they can’t, but Ms. Annabel Harz not only chooses to face it, but to retell her own story in her own way, making it into art.


The poems tell the story of being terrified where you are supposed to be safest and hating yourself even when you are all you have to discovering your own self worth and finding true love within yourself.


The work does not shy away from sensitive topics like depression, violence, self-consciousness, isolation, and even suicidal thoughts, and it hopes to inspires others going through similar situations to just hold on, to take the space and time they need to find themselves and outgrow the situations they are in and learn more about themselves and just how strong they are.


While the poems may not feel that deep or that striking, there is no denying their honesty, and they follow each other in a lovely pattern that makes this story told in prose worth reading.

Reviewed by
Fatima Aladdin

Writer, Ghostwriter, Editor, Beta Reader, Reviewer, Writing Coach/Consultant Hire me: https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~013e6db01a40259db0 Contact me: https://www.instagram.com/fatima.aladdin/ My reviews are my personal, professional opinion based on my experience in the field. ❤️

Journey into the Shadow and the Sunshine

Written by Annabel Harz

Buy it nowBuy nowBuy
Read preview

Synopsis

Journey into the Shadow and the Sunshine continues the theme of Journey into the Dark and the Light, the first book by Annabel Harz. Disarmingly honest words and images reveal more of her personal experiences: the deep shadows of loneliness and depression; the recognition of the value of survival at her lowest point of feeling unworthy; the importance of mental and physical space in creating a safe place for personal exploration and growth; and ultimately the sunshine of wellbeing when—through sheer grit and endurance—her personal demons had been conquered and set free.
Sustained effort is required to rise out of depression once it is established as a daily state of being. The poetry and artwork in this collection exemplify the resilience required to rise above the despair of mental ill-health, and with candour and sincerity depict the internal strength which facilitates reaching a place of well-being.

"When words so incisively and uniquely capture the experiences of pain, misery, shame and heartache, it gives the mind and soul a new way of understanding these events. And perhaps, these words then help to heal." - Sonia Street

TRIGGER WARNING: This book discusses domestic violence and emotions associated with depression, including suicidal ideation.

Journey into the Shadow and the Sunshine

Written by Annabel Harz

Buy it nowBuy nowBuy
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Annabel Harz
Annabel Harz shared an update on Journey into the Shadow and the Sunshineabout 3 years ago
about 3 years ago
Just a few hours left to upvote my book: thank you to those who have upvoted so far!

8 Comments

Annabel Harz – Hi Fatima: thank you for your lovely review! I always find it interesting, to see how others respond to my work. You have captured the essence - and intent - of my poems. Thank you again!
1 like
about 3 years ago
Fatima Aladdin – @annabelharz Thank you for sharing your work!
0 likes
about 3 years ago
Brenman Carr – Sensitive and brutally from the heart. Annabel's writings cut close to where many of us have been in our darker times
1 like
about 3 years ago
Annabel Harz – @brenmancarr Thank you! The reward is to have climbed out of the darker times and look back on them as a memory, not as a 'now-experience'. The gift of my trauma is new perspectives on life that provide deeper fulfilment, now. Thank you for your beautiful comment.
1 like
about 3 years ago
Annabel Harz – For any readers interested in my book(s): feel free to ask me about any of the 40 poems or 43 illustrations! - Annabel
0 likes
about 3 years ago
Claire Ishi Ayetoro – Just bought your book on Amazon!
0 likes
about 3 years ago
Annabel Harz – @ishiayetoro So exciting!! I hope you like it as much as I liked yours: your book really spoke to me. Let me know what you think!
1 like
about 3 years ago
Robin L Harvey – Review of Journey into the Shadow and the Sunshine by Annabel Harz, published through BalBoa.Press, a Division of Hay House. Available as E-book and Paperback By Robin L Harvey               There are two things you immediately notice when you launch into Annabel Harz’s uplifting poetry collection, Journey into the Shadow and the Sunshine.            The first is the colourful cover illustration, comprised of a flower-petal like image in bursts of rainbow hues. In its centre is the a Yin/Yang symbol with the left side half black, and the right, half white. The pencil crayon-like lines used to fill and colour the image are almost reminiscent of childhood scribblings. This combination aptly represents the author’s journey from trauma and depression into a firmly grounded, centred life.            The second thing is the impressive list of presentation testimonials from accredited professionals. Each praises the collection, where Harz documents her evolution from a damaged soul to one in recovery, in large part for its ability to help heal others.             Harz’s poems flow through haunted memories, growing self reflection and knowledge, that finally land her centred in a world of growth and joy. The opening section, entitled Shadow, reflects Harz’s bleak beginnings. Poems like “Dreams of Reality” and “Soul Prison” describe her life before recovery as an “open jail,” where, “… my waking life is as unreal as my dreams.”             “I gave up wishing on moonbeams so many moons ago,” she writes in “Transformation.”            “On Time,” a poem reflects the times the darkness in her spirit almost destroyed her will to live. “I’m weary of this emotional roller coaster. It’s vicious, I want to get off,” the author writes.            “Carefree,” reflects a painful irony in the lives of many trauma survivors, who must hide their pain behind a happy facade. “Look closer: she’s not carefree,” Harz writes. “Her smile is encased in tears.”            The next section, Survival, contains poems that show the author inching toward a better life.  In “Breakdown,” Harz writes of the epiphany that eventually gives her strength. “I know I am slowly but surely digging my own grave.”             “Connection,” is a poignant reflection on the pain and confusion felt when trauma survivor experiences a love for which she is unprepared. Emotions become “a terrifying whirlpool” … leading her “far, far away, deep within myself, desperately treading water.”            In the uplifting poem, “Yesterdays,” Harz has recovered enough to bid goodbye to suicide – “you were never meant to be one of the options … Nevermore do I want to go back there. Ever.”            Poems in the section entitled Space tell of how her damaged spirit found permission and the inner space to explore and grow as in the poem, “Ghosts of The Past.”  Her she aspires to find, “an opening that allows a glimmer of hope to shine through?”            In the final section, Sunshine, the poet emerges as a woman reborn in recovery, happy and free. The love poem “Life Force Within” expresses Harz’s readiness at last to connect and be loved. “The world is illuminated by you at its glowing epicentre,” she writes.            “Perceptions,” sums up the author’s journey, when at last, “The good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful, the yin and the yang, combine.”  Her final poem, “I Am,” is touching and inspirational. Harz, having reached the end of her journey, looks back on her transformation as, “… a weary traveller arriving home with gladness. I am music. I am poetry. I am art. I am.”            Harz reaches the reader with direct yet evocative word choices. She is a minimalist poet who often uses dramatic narrative and other unique expressive elements of form in this work. While she employs little imagery or stylistic embellishments, the approach works well here as it counterbalances the collection’s forceful and, at times, disturbing subject matter.            The collection’s design – the coloured page backgrounds, the hand-drawn images that accompany each poem – creates a lyrical narrative within a stunning, visual/poetic mix. Take the journey to light along with Annabel Harz. Her poetry’s wisdom and insight, combined with the book’s beautiful artwork, will make you more than glad you did.
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over 2 years ago
About the author

Proud to be the author of TWO published books featuring my poetry and art, and depicting my journey through depression and into wellness. Book number three is in the making ... wish me space (to write) and watch this space (for updates)! view profile

Published on October 03, 2021

Published by Balboa Press

7000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Genre:Poetry

Reviewed by

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