Please Look into the Mirror

by Michaela Angemeer

See yourself as you truly are in this emotional collection of poetry and prose inspired by ancestral and inner child healing.

Please Look into the Mirror is about facing the darkness to find light. Separated into three Glass, Mirror, and Reflection, it’s about the mother wound, gaining a deeper sense of self, learning to take accountability and finding relief in cycle breaking.

Early Praise for Please Look into the Mirror

Michaela’s voice of vulnerability and honesty provides readers a space to reflect upon their emotions and experiences. Please Look into the Mirror is a testament to the power of language to impact and heal the heart.— Whitney Hanson, author of Harmony

Angemeer’s honesty fosters a safe space for reflection, encouraging readers to not only heal their connection with the world around them but, as with all her finest work, gently guiding us toward nurturing the inner child, making space for new forms of love.
— Christopher Tapp, author of may i come home

Please Look into the Mirror is for those searching for the validation they never received in their childhood, those repairing familial relationships, and those learning to accept themselves. Angemeer’s words reminded me why I stay alive for little me; for that, I am so grateful.
– ari b. cofer, author of poetry + prose

A story of reconnecting with the self at every age, through every step of emotional growing pains—told through Angemeer’s classically profound yet graspable voice. A must-read for softening into one’s own identity.
— Kim Rashidi, author of Girl Mess

Michaela beautifully guides you to take your inner child by the hand and break your own generational trauma by giving them the love and healing they—and you—so desperately need.
— Parker Lee, author of coffee days whiskey nights

Genres: Poetry, Adult

126 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 21, 2024

About the author

Michaela Angemeer (she/they) is a queer Canadian poet who’s passionate about sharing her healing journey and inspiring readers to spend more time with their feelings.

They’ve published five best-selling collections of poetry including When He Leaves You, You’ll Come Back to Yourself, Please Love Me at My Worst, Poems for the Signs, and There Is Room for All of You Here.

Michaela’s newest book, Please Look into the Mirror, is about facing the darkness to find light. Separated into three sections: Glass, Mirror, and Reflection, it’s about the mother wound, gaining a deeper sense of self, learning to take accountability and finding relief in cycle breaking.

Michaela lives in Kitchener, Ontario with her Frenchton, Bea. You can find her intently browsing thrift stores, ordering tapas at local restaurants or on her couch yapping to her girlfriend.

Get in touch on TikTok & Instagram: @michaelapoetry

Reviews

[Isabella · Rating 4 out of 5]

YESSS LOVED IT!!!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

“on days you feel small
on days you feel weak
like you'll never amount
to anything at all
remember that you're a reflection
of all the love you've ever felt
and all the love you've ever given”

I hope when you look into the mirror you see someone you love. If you don’t then i hope you are on your journey to loving them because they deserve your love.

[Taylor Dawicke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Angemeer’s work. It’s always so raw and vulnerable. Every poem shows her journey of healing and feels so relatable. As somebody who definitely also has a “mother wound” they’re healing from, her words are so relatable.

[Dannita · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️ 3.2/5.0

"the whole point of healing is recognizing that there was never anything wrong with you to begin with."

Damn! I really needed to read this 🤧 A reminder that healing isn't fixing what's broken but about embracing who you've always been.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books you pick up and don’t notice how it happens - and suddenly, here you are, flipping the last page...

Pure, honest, and real.

A quiet journey of understanding yourself, moving from reflection to acceptance (isn’t that how the chapters are structured? - glass -> mirror -> reflection -> integration).

The writing is simple but hits in a very real way. It’s about taking your time, being patient with yourself, and remembering your worth beyond what you achieve. We all deserve just to be...

Also, Great timing for this book. I feel like today of all days I need to slow down and have a reminder - to be a little kinder to myself.

My favorite pieces:

🌸🌸🌸
on days you feel small
on days you feel weak
like you’ll never amount
to anything at all
remember that you’re a reflection
of all the love you’ve ever felt
and all the love you’ve ever given

🌸🌸🌸
today, let yourself feel joy.
for the fact that you’re still here.
for the fact that in spite of it all, you’re still trying.

🌸🌸🌸
i just wanna be a reflection
of all the love i’ve ever received

[caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a good collection. loved the poems about being vulnerable, body image, inner child work, mother wounds, and avoidance. i will have to check out angemeer’s other books!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was so looking forward to this release!!! Absolutely beautiful writing as always and incredibly strong messages!! My personal favourite was “bringer of joy” (strong ending to the book!!) as my dog truly did the same for my through covid! Honestly it wasn’t my favourite of their books, but I definitely recommend a read of them all because there’s something in them for everyone!

[Joanna Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michaela has this amazing ability to beautifully capture vulnerability. 🩷 "for the overthinkers" truly resonated with me.

[Danielle Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s like if someone bottled up all my trauma and put it in a book wow 😍

[BethMcD 🧚🏼‍♀️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

2026 is the year of poetry for me.

I originally found Michaela on Instagram and found I could deeply relate to her poetry.

This collection focuses on our discovering our mother wounds, facing the ugly parts of ourselves and learning to heal and come out the other side loving ourselves more.

There are just so many of her poems that I resonated with. The first section focuses on Michaela’s relationship with her mother. And I related to it so much. There’s this push and pull with someone you love that also abused and neglected you. It’s complicated and messy and so painful.

Here are a few from this Glass I enjoyed:
“I’ve been homesick my whole life
Missing a home I never had”

“Brushing my hair for little me
Eating breakfast for little me
Playing in the lake for little me
Planting flowers for little me
Laughing loud for little me
Saying no for little me
Crying for little me
Staying alive for little me”

“If my mother sees me
As all the parts of herself
She’s afraid of

Maybe I see her
As all the parts of myself
I’m afraid of too”

Mirror is the section where we are forced to face all our ugly bits. To look really hard at everything we are-good, bad, ugly and scary! Such a beautiful part of the collection.
“Maybe you want to run
Because you never learned how to love
Two people at the same time”

Reflection is the most joyful of the sections. This last section explores the joy of being liberated and free! Free to love and be loved again!

The last piece in the collection is about the unconditional love Michaela gets from her dog Bea. It’s so beautiful and truly encapsulates how love can force you to be and stay present especially love for one’s self.

Love this collection so much. My copy is always dog eared to shit. 🙈

[Christopher Tapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unfiltered and unapologetic call to be present and heal the mother wound. 'Please Look Into the Mirror' arrives at the perfect time. In a world filled with chaos, we need to look inward more than ever, and Angemeer's raw vulnerability invites us to do just that. Her honesty fosters a safe space for reflection, encouraging readers to not only heal their connection with the world around them but, as with all her finest work, gently guiding us toward nurturing the inner child, making space for new forms of love.

[Mike Franco · Rating 5 out of 5]

YESSS I LOVED IT!!!
I cannot believe this amazing talented author signed my copy of this truly spectacular book and I had the chance to attend her book signing at indigo and meet her!!!
Michaela ever single word on this page felt like you were writing specifically to me and I loved every single poem. (Literallyyy I had to annotate and take pics of soo many poems cuz I related to soo many of them!!)
Truly an amazing read

[ji ☾ ⋆*･]

I think I highlighted most of the third section 😭🎀

[Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Healing poems

[Carah · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Tory · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5/5

[Mikayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to highlight this entire collection

[Jordan Areias · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent instagram poetry collection. Some poems were cute. Others, felt like something you would pull from a notes app. Very à la Rupi Kaur. I had high expectations following the James Baldwin quote opening the novel. But, the collection seemed to prioritize easily digestible nuggets instead of exploring the complexities of the human expereience. I am sure this work will speak to someone, just wasn't me. 2.5/5.

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

oh my god.

[Abbie Luck · Rating 5 out of 5]

brb just gifting this to everybody I love