Stars At Last

by Jessica Jocelyn

"the price I paid to exist
was a mother who couldn't love me.
my karma was a daughter
made from stars."

Stars At Last compassionately and candidly carries each reader's heart through a healing journey of breaking generational trauma while traversing the tumultuous waters of the mother wound.

With deeply vulnerable and visceral lines, Jessica Jocelyn reclaims her personal power the closer she gets to freeing herself from a maternal trauma bond. She learns to not only be a loving mother towards herself, but she also further rewrites her lineage's history by becoming the parent her mother could never be to her own daughter.

Ultimately, this poignant poetry book is for the cycle-breakers; the ones who had to mother themselves along the path to self-empowerment and transformation.

trigger warnings include references abuseself harmdomestic violence

Genres: Poetry, Parenting, Mental Health

142 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2024

About the author

Jessica Jocelyn is the thirty-something author of four poetry books (Chasing Wildfires, Finding Daisies, Girl(Remastered), and Ever More), a proud mother, and a nemophilist. By sharing her lived experiences, she strives to deeply connect with her readers and remind them that they are not in this alone. Jessica’s poetry may be hard to hear at times, but it’s always healing to read. In the same vein, her past may be dark, but writing serves as her spark of sunlight. When she isn’t storytelling, you can find this free-spirited goth spending quality time with her family that inspire her every day.

Reviews

[Arian · Rating 5 out of 5]

two sisters were sitting in the grass.

''do you think we're together in every universe?"
one quietly asked the other.

after thinking for a bit, the other sister said:

"if we come back as flowers,
we will grow in the same garden
and laugh when butterflies tickle us.

if we come back as nature,
I will be the clouds in your storm.

and if we come back as fruit,
we will grow on the same vine.

it could never be possible that we aren't together."

[Sarah Heitkemper · Rating 5 out of 5]

have you ever read a book that just completely breaks your heart yet builds it right back up and makes you feel less alone in an incredibly lonely situation? basically every single poetry book by jessica has done that to me, what a gift it is that jessica chose to share her mind and experiences with us. stars at last exceeded expectations. absolutely phenomenal.

[breezy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually ended up finishing this book in the physical form so I could annotate and highlight in person. This touched so many emotions on parental neglect, abandonment, and reflection. Would definitely recommend to anyone with a non-traditional parental relationship!!

[Roslyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a woman with a lot of childhood and relationship trauma who is raising a daughter differently, this poetry collection cut straight to my core. The poems about mothering resonated so strongly, they felt like they were my own words.

[Emma Asay]

Me rn🧎‍♀️‍➡️

[Katelyn A Belser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love poetry because you feel so deeply.

[Jessica Toro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely relateable 💗🥹

[Jenni Welsch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, wow, and wow. This small poetry collection can be read quickly, but the rawness and brutifulness of it leaves a lasting impression. Definitely interested in reading more by this author.

[Rachel Gasseling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never felt more seen by a book. My daughter is only 13 days old and I will never understand how some people can treat their children the way they do. It was healing to read these and know I will be a better mom for my daughter than what I got. Such a beautiful collection of poetry.
I’m so sorry for anyone else who’s felt the pain described in the book.

[Delaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gut punch. A book I wish didn't resonate with me deeply in my core. I thought of myself while reading it. My daughter (and son) sometimes playing in the background. Hurt and healing.

[Tracie LaCorte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Healing

This book allowed me to look at my childhood and allow myself to mourn what could have been. I never wanted children. I refused to babysit others kids always claiming to not like children. When I held our eldest daughter I knew that my childhood taught me about what kind of mother I didn’t want to be.

I started this book and couldn’t stop until it was finished. I paused on multiple pages to reread them over and over.

Thank you for this beautiful book of validation. For years I had no understanding of my feelings and finally forced myself to face those in my 30’s. Years of pretending “this is just how I am” and then finally allowing myself to process.

My children are the greatest payback that was threatened so often and I am so thankful for my stars.

[Mae Setrova · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was a child who was never hit by her parents and because of this, any other form of abuse i was met with was downplayed by my own mind telling me it wasn't really abuse. this book validates that feeling, and validates abuse in more forms than only physical. from the foreword all the way to the acknowledgments, i have bawled my eyes out.

"I will gladly feel the pain for the rest of my life if it means I can’t ever give it to my daughter." - page 87, ebook version

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those forced to be an adult at an age entirely inappropriate for those responsibilities, for those deprived of the childhood they deserved, for mothers who broke the cycle and chose a different, healing and loving path for her own daughter, this book is a must read.

Dedicated to "the daughters who raised themselves," I knew I was in the right place.

I've never cried so much reading a book while simultaneously feeling seen and understood, as I did with Jessica's profoundly moving poems.

[Kass (KeepItKassual) she-her · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful, raw, vulnerable and gut-wrenching. Oh, I’m with you, Jessica, and you are brave and an amazing mother. Just knowing you want to be better for your daughter, worrying about making sure she knows you love her so much, you are already not them. You never will be. You are amazing and resilient. Thank you for your words. 🤍

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy smokes! That was amazing! I actually only started reading this because of a quote that I saw on Facebook from it. The beginning half didn't capture me like other poetry that I like usually does, so I was afraid I would DNF this book. I'm so glad that I pushed through for a while longer because I think this just became one of my favorite books for the YEAR! I cried so much as I read this. There are no words. I loved it. Here are some of my favorite quotes.

"they say children are born with innocence. but innocence is lost while bearing the burdens that were never supposed to be yours."

"many years later, I rode next to my newborn daughter as we headed home from the hospital. the sky was new and I allowed myself to search for stars once more. when I glanced over at my daughter’s face, she was already looking at me, and in her eyes, I could see the night sky’s reflection. that’s when I finally saw them. stars at last."

"I took the pain from my pocket and swallowed it whole. I could feel it burning my stomach. I will gladly feel the pain for the rest of my life if it means I can’t ever give it to my daughter. I will never know what it is like to have my mother protect me. but my daughter will."

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both heart-wrenching and heart-warming. Beautiful reflections of navigating motherhood when ‘mother’ is a foreign concept. A confronting yet necessary journey that began with the birth of my daughter. Two of my favourite passages that seamlessly converge:
(1)”yes, you are still my mother, and you always will be. But, Ive always been your daughter. I can forgive that you didn’t know how to love me. But i cant forget that you didn’t even want to learn how”
(2)”maybe nothing happens for a reason, or maybe my mother exists to remind me who not to be for my daughter. By not being a good mother, she taught me how to be a great one”

[Victoria Lawler · Rating 5 out of 5]

“”If you ever have a daughter
It will be your payback”

And it absolutely is.

She is all the love I’ve ever tried to give
And all the love I should’ve received.

She is all the magic I lost along the way.”


I did not expect a poetry book to make me feel this way but this book is a great example of why I love poetry. Poetry just makes you feel so deeply. This book makes me feel seen and I wish I didn’t relate to this as much as I do and I pray my kids never will.

[Mona ❥ Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great to read as a first time mom. Although I cannot relate to the trauma of abuse, I connected with this mom in the way she wrote. I love that this poem shows a generational break on moms and how she is with her daughter now. Being a mom is so hard and trying to see your own mother’s POV is still challenging because we wouldn’t do our daughters the way our mother’s did us.

[Taylor Dawicke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so well written! Growing up in a similar situation made this book feel so much more cathartic. I loved the healing nature of the poems, and how the author took the bad and used that as a lesson on what not to do with her own child. Highly recommend!

[Lisa]

I could’ve written so many of these poems myself. 💕

[Jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you 🤍

[Lumé · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find me crying in the corner

[Lottie Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a truly beautiful book. I felt such a mix of emotions reading it but mostly I felt heard.

[Cassie Cristea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry book means a great deal to me as a new mom. Beautiful words.

[Simone Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her poetry is what sparked my healing journey. I resonate with so much of what is written on these pages. It’s heartbreaking and raw yet healing at the same time. Thankyou.

[Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s as if the author climbed inside my heart and mind and heard all my therapy sessions and deepest thoughts.

[Julie Carithers Overstreet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very different read "in verse" from the author's real life experiences.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful! I will read this over and over I love it so much!

[Mahima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just saw a random post on instagram and wanted to give it a try. It came out to be really good, deep and some words will stay with me for a long time to come.

[Vivienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried again and again.
It’s like she was in my mind all these years and brought words and imagery to what was inside and silent.
Thank you for sharing your gift Jessica Jocelyn.