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Depression's Dance
Depression has a way of sneaking into your life and before you know it you are caught in a dance you can't cut away from. This is about my dance with depression complete with the moments of desperation as well as the moments of hope.
104 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 2013
245 people want to read
About the author
HastyWords
5 books68 followersI am just a girl trying to create rainbows in a world where my mind is held prisoner! I write a lot in order to gain perspective, purge my soul, retain my memories, and to put into words what my tears and laughter are trying to say!
Writing began as therapy. Poetry, to be specific, was a way to get an active and anxious mind to focus. Taking a feeling and describing how I felt in that moment with as few words as possible became a calming meditation.
Before I started writing, I just over analyzed everything. My mind went 100 miles an hour in 100 different directions and very few of those directions led anywhere good. Mostly, it just exhausted me, wore me out, made me emotional and kept me from sleeping. Take a girl who is anxious and deprive her of sleep for six months and depression will conquer even the strongest parts of your mind.
Many times my thoughts are complete nonsense, but the world is full of nonsense. My only hope in sharing all of my emotions is that my journey makes another person's journey less lonely, and I will find new pieces of myself along the way! I have found this the most rewarding part of public writing... a shared journey.
Writing began as therapy. Poetry, to be specific, was a way to get an active and anxious mind to focus. Taking a feeling and describing how I felt in that moment with as few words as possible became a calming meditation.
Before I started writing, I just over analyzed everything. My mind went 100 miles an hour in 100 different directions and very few of those directions led anywhere good. Mostly, it just exhausted me, wore me out, made me emotional and kept me from sleeping. Take a girl who is anxious and deprive her of sleep for six months and depression will conquer even the strongest parts of your mind.
Many times my thoughts are complete nonsense, but the world is full of nonsense. My only hope in sharing all of my emotions is that my journey makes another person's journey less lonely, and I will find new pieces of myself along the way! I have found this the most rewarding part of public writing... a shared journey.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 3, 2014
“Depression has a way of sneaking into your life and before you know it you are caught in a dance you can’t cut away from. This is about my dance with depression complete with the moments of desperation as well as the moments of hope.” Hasty Words.
9% of adults are grappling with the darkness of depression. Of those 9%, 70% are women. There has been a sharp rise in the number of patients being diagnosed with depression.
Sad, isn’t it?
I know many who have had battled depression or are still battling the beast. I’ve seen some people succumb to the bottomless pit of despair and lose their will to carry on. While others, the people who inspire, fight every moment of every day to win the unfair war waged by traitorous depression, unleashing torture on the souls of those afflicted.
The embattled souls cling to hope, holding on tight, trying to come to terms with so many whys. Beaten down by the emotional tug of war at the very core of their existence still, they choose to fight rather than flee.
Hasty is one of those souls. She has armed herself with words, profound words, that impact a reader as her struggles unfold on the page. Poetry is her battle cry in her personal war to defeat the demons trying to steal every ounce of strength she possesses.
Her poems are her sword and shield against depression’s war dance. I sense the catharsis writing offers the poet from an unseen but very real enemy.
It’s all there, page after page as her words paint a picture of the emotional, physical and spiritual ramifications of depression.
Poet Hasty Words has written a powerful anthology of poems, Depression’s Dance, capturing the toll and turmoil of living with depression. It’s transparent as you read and understand the impact depression has had on her and her loved ones. She fights hard to free herself of the chains depression has cuffed her with, binding her mind, body and spirit in constant chaos and does it through poetry.
Her poetry is heart wrenching. Take for example, the poems “Born Broken” or “Vinegar Words” or even “Forever Flawed.” It’s moving to read of the pain she feels. But a numbness is also echoed in her words. While the poetry tells of her struggles, beautiful pictures of Hasty Words add another dimension to the words, providing an image of what depression looks like.
Depression has it’s own ruthless voice in the pages of Depression’s Dance. He antagonizes the poet with harsh words and unfair ridicule. You read what she hears in her mind’s battleground as the enemy claws at her resolve.
“These pages reflect
Images of me
Shattered pieces
For the world to see.”
“Piecemeal Souls” captures the intention behind this book of poems.
Every piece resonated with me. I went on a rollercoaster ride of emotions but came away hopeful. Despite her struggles, Hasty uses words to effectively combat her nemesis and I cheered for her the entire way.
I strongly recommend you pick up Depression’s Dance. It is worth the read as you come away with an understanding of a human condition we seem to never want to talk about and maybe because, we all have our own demons to slay.
Veena
9% of adults are grappling with the darkness of depression. Of those 9%, 70% are women. There has been a sharp rise in the number of patients being diagnosed with depression.
Sad, isn’t it?
I know many who have had battled depression or are still battling the beast. I’ve seen some people succumb to the bottomless pit of despair and lose their will to carry on. While others, the people who inspire, fight every moment of every day to win the unfair war waged by traitorous depression, unleashing torture on the souls of those afflicted.
The embattled souls cling to hope, holding on tight, trying to come to terms with so many whys. Beaten down by the emotional tug of war at the very core of their existence still, they choose to fight rather than flee.
Hasty is one of those souls. She has armed herself with words, profound words, that impact a reader as her struggles unfold on the page. Poetry is her battle cry in her personal war to defeat the demons trying to steal every ounce of strength she possesses.
Her poems are her sword and shield against depression’s war dance. I sense the catharsis writing offers the poet from an unseen but very real enemy.
It’s all there, page after page as her words paint a picture of the emotional, physical and spiritual ramifications of depression.
Poet Hasty Words has written a powerful anthology of poems, Depression’s Dance, capturing the toll and turmoil of living with depression. It’s transparent as you read and understand the impact depression has had on her and her loved ones. She fights hard to free herself of the chains depression has cuffed her with, binding her mind, body and spirit in constant chaos and does it through poetry.
Her poetry is heart wrenching. Take for example, the poems “Born Broken” or “Vinegar Words” or even “Forever Flawed.” It’s moving to read of the pain she feels. But a numbness is also echoed in her words. While the poetry tells of her struggles, beautiful pictures of Hasty Words add another dimension to the words, providing an image of what depression looks like.
Depression has it’s own ruthless voice in the pages of Depression’s Dance. He antagonizes the poet with harsh words and unfair ridicule. You read what she hears in her mind’s battleground as the enemy claws at her resolve.
“These pages reflect
Images of me
Shattered pieces
For the world to see.”
“Piecemeal Souls” captures the intention behind this book of poems.
Every piece resonated with me. I went on a rollercoaster ride of emotions but came away hopeful. Despite her struggles, Hasty uses words to effectively combat her nemesis and I cheered for her the entire way.
I strongly recommend you pick up Depression’s Dance. It is worth the read as you come away with an understanding of a human condition we seem to never want to talk about and maybe because, we all have our own demons to slay.
Veena
February 20, 2014
Right from the front cover, the choice of art work projects a sense that "Depression's Dance" is a silent one, while in another way the choice of font, and photographic image asks us to listen, and observe the dance. "Depression's Dance.
Having heard a little about the book above before reading, initially I thought, okay, this is going to be a book of poems. Poems which communicate an individual's struggle, fight, dance with depression. It's different for each of us, whom have become navigators on the darkest of seas,ever to see each tangle in weather, fouling our thoughts, each individual story, life, is different.
Oh was I wrong. Just a book of poems, one will not find here. Rather well crafted is "Depression's Dance", for if you expected to read alone, one would be bitterly disappointed. Hasty, and Depression,two companions, for I possibly don't believe they're friends, give one a glimpse into a journey traveled, down through dark places, sometimes silent places.
So one needs to be prepared, for if your dance card is not already full, it soon will be, the most essential piece to the conversation (there's not really a dance card). Sorry, perhaps it's best I don't give too much away,though suffice to say a reader introduced to the two protagonists, but you'll have to take a look yourself to discover more, so here's a few statistics.
Forty-four poems dance across the pages of "Depression's Dance, accompanied by forty-seven photographic images, and photographic art. Thirty-seven times will depression fill your dance card for attention, while Hasty will let the poetry tell her story, along with seven other moments to listen out for as they come along.
"Depression's Dance" also contains a well thought out selection of prose, with the shorter pieces taking one inside moments,there are four longer ones. Two come after the first short act, then another two (which I think is one split into two parts) after the second act, like intermission, they lend a helping hand in absorbing the story as it dances through the poetry, and opens up what "Depression's Dance is about, and individual's, the authors story living with depression. Seven pieces of prose.
Having finished reading the book earlier in the week, I've had time to think about it as a piece of communication, the way the delivers in a number of different literature styles. Poetry, prose, dialogue, thoughts. These are coupled with art, and photography, is it multimedia, mixed literature, either way, "Depression's Dance" will find readers coming away with different perspectives on the book, and depression. In one way, or another, it's lending a hand, and a hand up is always good to find, even while reading inside of another's personal, and now shared (to a degree,)space.
I can highly recommend, "Depression's Dance".
Having heard a little about the book above before reading, initially I thought, okay, this is going to be a book of poems. Poems which communicate an individual's struggle, fight, dance with depression. It's different for each of us, whom have become navigators on the darkest of seas,ever to see each tangle in weather, fouling our thoughts, each individual story, life, is different.
Oh was I wrong. Just a book of poems, one will not find here. Rather well crafted is "Depression's Dance", for if you expected to read alone, one would be bitterly disappointed. Hasty, and Depression,two companions, for I possibly don't believe they're friends, give one a glimpse into a journey traveled, down through dark places, sometimes silent places.
So one needs to be prepared, for if your dance card is not already full, it soon will be, the most essential piece to the conversation (there's not really a dance card). Sorry, perhaps it's best I don't give too much away,though suffice to say a reader introduced to the two protagonists, but you'll have to take a look yourself to discover more, so here's a few statistics.
Forty-four poems dance across the pages of "Depression's Dance, accompanied by forty-seven photographic images, and photographic art. Thirty-seven times will depression fill your dance card for attention, while Hasty will let the poetry tell her story, along with seven other moments to listen out for as they come along.
"Depression's Dance" also contains a well thought out selection of prose, with the shorter pieces taking one inside moments,there are four longer ones. Two come after the first short act, then another two (which I think is one split into two parts) after the second act, like intermission, they lend a helping hand in absorbing the story as it dances through the poetry, and opens up what "Depression's Dance is about, and individual's, the authors story living with depression. Seven pieces of prose.
Having finished reading the book earlier in the week, I've had time to think about it as a piece of communication, the way the delivers in a number of different literature styles. Poetry, prose, dialogue, thoughts. These are coupled with art, and photography, is it multimedia, mixed literature, either way, "Depression's Dance" will find readers coming away with different perspectives on the book, and depression. In one way, or another, it's lending a hand, and a hand up is always good to find, even while reading inside of another's personal, and now shared (to a degree,)space.
I can highly recommend, "Depression's Dance".
February 17, 2014
Quite simply a choreographer is someone who combines movement to create dance. A good choreographer has the ability to combine movement and music to create a special moment. A brilliant choreographer can propel that moment much further and transport the audience into another place that is real and inspired. Depression’s Dance is one such piece.
Depression in and of itself is a choreographer. It dictates the composition; tells the mind – the dancer - how to feel, what to do. HastyWords has an intimate knowledge of this dance and has created her own composition, which propels the reader into the heart and soul of its choreographer. Her writing is without pretense - full of heart and emotion. She displays courage and a spirit which inspires the reader to embrace her journey.
As a dancer and choreographer, I believe this book is a valuable resource to anyone who may need words of inspired hope and understanding, as well as, to those who may have someone in their lives who suffers from depression. As a reader, I highly recommend Depression’s Dance. It is a lovely composition of feelings, words and photographs written by a very talented poetess – HastyWords.
February 26, 2014
I've been a fan of Hasty's writing ever since I started writing poetry and this book is no exception. Hasty uses her poetry and internal dialogue to give a face to depression. Using creative writing to express her own emotions at the same time as revealing how depression distorts one's own thought process. Using personification to portray depression is an amazing way to bring to light that depression is a major problem. Hasty uses this technique perfectly combining her own dialogue with that of depressions to portray constant conflict between the two.
In the modern day, poetry isn't as appreciated as it should be or as it once was, and with Hasty's writing in this book she has captured the essence of some of the great poets of history.
If you're a fan of poetry you should read this book, the portrayal of emotions really makes you feel for Hasty and in a way feel bad for her characterization of depression as well.
In the modern day, poetry isn't as appreciated as it should be or as it once was, and with Hasty's writing in this book she has captured the essence of some of the great poets of history.
If you're a fan of poetry you should read this book, the portrayal of emotions really makes you feel for Hasty and in a way feel bad for her characterization of depression as well.
June 4, 2014
Depression's Dance is a walk through Hasty Word's experience with the insecurities and agony that comes along with depression. It is an original take on the condition in which depression is personified. Her conversations are raw and show the true depths of depression. She is an exceptional writer of prose, and it is interlaced throughout the conversations, highlighting the author's struggle. This is a great book for anyone who is experiencing depression, but has not yet recognized it and taken the first steps in treating the illness. Hasty is honest in her words and her insight is very worthwhile. Depression's Dance is an overall success in describing this very common yet so unnoticed illness.
November 15, 2016
I've never before read a book of poetry that I could see adapted into a movie or stage play. Then again, Depression's Dance is not just a book of poetry. Depression and Hasty are ongoing characters throughout, and the poems could easily be the words of multiple more. Depression is the most interesting of these characters. Not just a typical "black hat" villain, Depression offers comforting words like a friend and woos like a lover.
The poetry in this book is amazing. Hasty Words doesn't bog herself down with pretension or stylizing. She simply writes and let's the words carry the day.
I could probably write for days about how much I loved this book. Instead I'm going to go back and read it again.
The poetry in this book is amazing. Hasty Words doesn't bog herself down with pretension or stylizing. She simply writes and let's the words carry the day.
I could probably write for days about how much I loved this book. Instead I'm going to go back and read it again.
February 7, 2014
Ever wondered how prose and verse feels together? Here's the right way to find out. It's a book that touches the "soul" of depression.. Depression has a voice, it is shrewd, it manipulates, it makes you believe, it shrinks your love and your smile and Hasty explains all these lies.. albeit in both prose and verse..
Some of the verse are so beautiful that you just have to pause the book, grasp them, re-read them, feel them and you will grow strong. It shows the deceptive layers of depression, the endless struggles we've to put and the majestic journey that words can weave.. all in all-WONDERFUL for every one who loves poetry and is coping with the gray soul sucking demon- depression!!
Some of the verse are so beautiful that you just have to pause the book, grasp them, re-read them, feel them and you will grow strong. It shows the deceptive layers of depression, the endless struggles we've to put and the majestic journey that words can weave.. all in all-WONDERFUL for every one who loves poetry and is coping with the gray soul sucking demon- depression!!
November 23, 2015
The thing about poetry is that it isn't something that can really be critiqued; if you don't love it, then it may not be your thing, but there's no wrong way to write it.
HastyWords uses this creative outlet to create a story of internal conflict, struggle with a mental illness. She brings in metaphors to express her journey through the demons of anxiety and depression.
Depression's Dance makes for a captivating read that will pull at your heartstrings but also give hope in the way that reassures you that, if you indeed share the author's struggles, you are not alone.
HastyWords uses this creative outlet to create a story of internal conflict, struggle with a mental illness. She brings in metaphors to express her journey through the demons of anxiety and depression.
Depression's Dance makes for a captivating read that will pull at your heartstrings but also give hope in the way that reassures you that, if you indeed share the author's struggles, you are not alone.
July 17, 2014
Hasty was generous enough to share her book with me at a writing conference the day after we'd had a great conversation about life and its difficulties. I thought her work was powerful, honest and revealing. "A Little Friendly Advice" was heart-wrenching, and "The Rooms Within" promised hope. Depression is not something I've had to deal with personally, but many friends have struggled with it. I was grateful for a new insight so intimately shared. Thanks, Hasty.
May 2, 2014
I was lucky enough to receive my copy from Goodreads First Reads, thank you TONS, Hasty Words. Right from the start, I fell in love with this book. She's so honest. So easy to relate to. I'll probably read it more than once! The photos were perfect. Every word was perfect, and I look forward to reading more from Hasty Words. Definitely one to read, friends!
September 24, 2014
My hubby & I loved reading this book, we have both battled depression on & off throughout our lives & Hasty has a unique and talented way of giving depression a voice which allowed us to now view it as an entity that in fact can be overcome, we absolutely loved it & appreciate Hasty so very much. Thank you!
April 16, 2014
Hasty Words truly shared an intimate part of her life. If you have never understood depression or people that suffer from depression, it is a must read! You will understand that depression is not an emotion or "state of mind" but a real disease that can not be cured with a pill. Written very well and easy to understand, what she is saying.
January 21, 2015
A beautifully wended tale, expressed thorough poetry, as the author and Depression take a turn on the dancefloor. At times a gentle, seductive (if sinister) rhumba; at others an angry, flashpoint Argentine tango...the two vie for the lead through the whole book, each piece leaving no clue as to who will dominate in the end.
Who won out? You decide...all I know is, she's still writing.
Who won out? You decide...all I know is, she's still writing.
February 21, 2014
Hasty has given a voice to the disease that is depression. She has drawn it out into conversation, and with each page the reader is given the opportunity to eavesdrop. The beautiful, shocking, and brazenly truthful words hit home with a power that is uplifting.
February 24, 2014
Depression's Dance is a powerful insight into depression. As someone who can relate, I find it extremely heroic for an author to share such a private struggle in a way that is relatable, as well as healing for others. Hasty is courageous and inspiring!
August 31, 2014
Interesting to read the inner thoughts of someone who you don't really know. It was an honest look into the daily struggle with depression, but I still felt like it was missing something. Thanks for the book HastyWords! Keep writing!
June 30, 2014
One star for the literal reason that I did not like it. It is clear that these poems mean a lot to the author, but they just didn't resonate with me. I hope that others find this book helpful and help them to put a voice to things that they may have trouble expressing.
June 26, 2014
Hasty has a way with personification of depression breaking it down into imagery making it easier to understand. She also gives you the feeling of having been there and lets the reader know they are not alone in these feelings. A very good read for people of all ages experiencing depression.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews