Radicle, or When the World Lived Inside Us: Poems – Lyrical Verse on Loss, Healing, and the Redeeming Power of Love

by Stephanie Catudal

From the New York Times bestselling author Everything All at Once comes a beautiful poetry collection exploring motherhood, grief, the unending road to healing, and the redeeming power of love.

The word radicle is defined as the root of a plant embryo, the first organ to appear when a seed germinates. It grows downward into the soil, anchoring the seedling, a symbol of growth and grounding.

Steph Catudal is beloved for her poignant meditations on loss, uncertainty, and illness, and the raw, wise reflections of her “brilliant, unflinching, lyrical” (Matt Haig) New York Times bestselling memoir Everything All At Once.

Now, Catudal brings her trademark wisdom and strong lyrical voice to bear in her first collection of verse, delving into the challenging yet often rich parts of life people often lack the courage to face. Radicle, or When the World Lived Inside Us explores universal themes of motherhood, our relationship to the natural world, the nature of suffering, the circular process of healing, and what it means to stay present in the midst of it all.


Loving myself has been like 

watching starlings  

braving the elements for a chance 

to witness some part of me live on, 

gathering twigs and twine for 

the promise of future, to 

reach for my own hand, 

fire and all, and say 

good girl, good girl 

it's time to come home. 

Genres: Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2025

Reviews

[Kelsey B · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Look!
the moon shines a crescent
from where we sit
but up there
she's always whole"

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Poignant. Stark. Wonderful.

[Alicia Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was waiting for what feels like YEARS for this poet to release a full-length poetry collection! Worth the wait. Perfect for women (especially mothers, though I am not one) in their late 30s. Perfect for those who carry grief in their bones alongside hope in their hearts. Fans of TRADITIONAL poetry will really enjoy this book.

[Isla McKetta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke me in all the right ways. The level of sensory detail is just right and Catudal poignantly captures what it's like to be in the sandwich generation.

[Eteocles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a very irregular collection of poems about plants and life.

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okish. A little overly sentimental.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I absolutely loved Catudel’s memoir. This being a book of poetry, it is obviously very different, but I can still strongly feel Catudel’s voice across both books.

She is clearly a lover of language. There were many times reading her poetry where I saw words I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

Many of her poems are about motherhood and about (I assume) the loss of her father. While I am not a mother and my father is still alive, there is a resonance in her writing to the universality of the human experience.

I like to read poetry aloud, and recommend doing that while reading Catudel’s poetry. I found in doing so, the poems came alive at a slower cadence than I would read most poetry.