manic pixie dream HURL

by Sarah Smith

The creative arts and creative writing have helped me express myself and establish myself as a poet, taking inspiration from everyday life experiences, relationships, and life lessons learned in the process. I was inspired to put together this poetry anthology, a compilation of freeform, haiku, and sestina poetry, after I completed National Novel Writing Month in November, where I wrote a romance novel from the perspective of "the manic pixie dream girl." I have always been fascinated by this archetype because I relate to it. I always thought that I needed to be perfect to be considered good enough, at any expense. This caused me to develop poor body image and an eating disorder. This book is about going through the process of learning to accept who you really are at your core, loving yourself because of your flaws, feeling good enough as you are, and being okay as your own person, even in a romantic relationship. In writing this book, I've learned a lot about myself and who I am when it comes to relationship dynamics. I hope that the key takeaway from this book is that being your imperfect, quirky self is absolutely beautiful and absolutely good enough. I am imperfect and that is good enough for me.

308 pages, Paperback

Published February 24, 2020

About the author

Sarah Smith has been interested in ghosts and storytelling since she was four. Her sitter told her Japanese ghost stories at night, which she retold on the schoolbus the next morning. When she heard the story of the haunted house and the Perkins Bequest, she knew she had to write about it. No one knows what became of the real Perkins Bequest. She hopes The Other Side of Dark may help solve the mystery.

The Other Side of Dark is her debut novel for young adults.

Sarah studied English at Harvard (where she hid out in the library reading mysteries) and film in London. She is the bestselling author of an adult mystery series set in Edwardian Boston and Paris; two of the books have been New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and one was a London Times Book of the Year.

She has also written a novel about the Shakespeare authorship, Chasing Shakespeares, and actually discovered a "Shakespearean" poem by another candidate. She is currently writing a novel about the Titanic.

Visit her online at www.sarahsmith.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sarahwriter. Read her short stories for free at BookViewCafe.

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