Surviving You by Danielle Holian
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Thank you so much to Danielle Holian for gifting me this poetry collection. I read and reviewed Danielle's second collection The Dilemma last year.
Surviving You is set up in a similar way in that there are sections detailing pain and trauma (The Breaking, The Aching) as well as the aftermath (The Healing, The Making). Holian starts the poetry explaining the process of writing, the need for healing, for voicing her trauma in order to go forward and in many ways this is uncomfortable reading. There are so many poems of pain, of needing that recognition and voice that it must have been very difficult to write but at the same time, very freeing to finally have a voice.
As always, Holian's poems hit home, even though I haven't suffered that kind of trauma, I felt the worry of walking home late at night, the keys between fingers, the calls to family before you set off, the text to friends to let them know you've got home safely. These are universal, all women feel these worries growing up and Holian shouts these concerns from these powerful poems.
There are fantastic lines ('there's more to me than the cream on top of a Guinness); hopeful lines ('peace found me in between the breaking, the aching and the healing; I survived') and bloody great metaphors (I particularly loved the poems that appeared to be about libraries and books on loans).
This is a must read for any poetry fan but also for any woman navigating growing up in a world where men seemingly have the power and women need a voice. Holian has a voice here and she uses it well - powerful, evocative words that shock and shame but are ultimately hopeful for a better world.