Count Me In

by Darlene Young

Count Me In is a collection of poems that, taken together, describe a world in its gritty and beautiful details as observed by a soul looking for God and finding him, tease and trickster that he is. An exploration of life from the perspective of a committed member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, these poems do not sugarcoat even as they demonstrate affection for the quirkiness of church culture. Within these pages are themes of longing, a mustering of faith in the face of doubt, regret, and nostalgia. Flies, whales, toothpicks—even Venmo—are all subjects of attentive observation. Overall we see a sense of yearning to be of use in the world. This is a book about singing in the dark, singing both despite and because of the dark. This is a book about hope.

Genres: Poetry

82 pages, Paperback

Published March 18, 2024

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Darlene writes beautiful, relatable poems. I’m not a cat person, or really an animal person, but “Cat, Before and After,” her poem partly about taking a cat to be euthanized, gutted me. It exemplifies something Darlene does very, very well, and that is capture the bittersweetness of mortality. Darlene’s poems ALWAYS keep it real, even when they drift into the abstract and impressionistic (“One Day You Finally Say Yes”) or the scriptural (“Moroni Is Alone,” “One of the Three Nephites Currently Serves in North America”). This is a book worth reading and re-reading again and again.

[CasiDee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another incredible book of poetry by Darlene Young. I recently had the opportunity to meet Darlene when I purchased this book. She signed it for me, and I told her that I need her to write twenty more books so I can read them all. I stand by that.

My favorites were:
Count Me In
Moroni is Alone
Listening to Wale Song on the Internet
My Neighbors’ Venmo Transactions
Stiff-Necked
It’s Christ, That Wayne
One of the Three Nephites Currently Serves in North America
There Are Two Types of People in the World
We Visited the Kirtland Temple, Now Owned and Staffed by a Different Church
You Are my Asymptote
Suburb
The Middle School Band Concert
To the Child Kicking the Back of my Seat at the Movie Theater
My God
We Go Axe-Throwing
Purchased

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I underestimated the power of reading poetry written from an LDS woman's perspective.

[Gabriel Núñez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Along with her two previous poetry collections, this feels like a new kind of sacred poetry, one that speaks to modern Latter-day Saints.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Chanel Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection. I liked all the poems (which almost never happens), and a few of them were extra beautiful.