Paper Flowers: poetry on the mother wound

by Jessica Jocelyn

Paper Flowers picks up where Jessica Jocelyn’s best-selling poetry book Stars At Last left off, welcoming each reader into the chronicles of complex grief upon the untimely death of the author’s mother.

From childhood trauma to toxic romantic relationships, the wounds run deep from only ever experiencing transactional “love” with conditions as a child. While the complexity of loss never truly leaves one’s heart, mind, and soul, reparenting oneself makes the rollercoaster journey less harrowing.

This five-part collection of poems is for those determined souls who are grieving what never was and slowly healing by becoming the mother they always hoped for and needed as a child.

Paper flowers may never bloom in the conventional sense, but each vulnerable page blossoms into a botanical garden of reassurance and self-empowerment.

Genres: Poetry

131 pages, Paperback

Published August 31, 2025

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

[Sarah Heitkemper · Rating 5 out of 5]

i go into JJ’s books knowing i’m going to be hugged and related to more than i’ve ever known. this one was no different but possibly my favorite that she’s written. it breaks your heart open, examines it a bit and closes it up making you know you’re not alone in the shitty hand you’ve been dealt.

[Britlyn bordelon · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’ll be 1 year since my mom died coming up this month.

It’s certainly a struggle. I’m no good with words or expressing feelings, so I’ve bought a few poetry books to maybe help me understand myself in this time.

This one certainly hit home. I’ve experienced first hand many of the things the author has wrote here.

Thank you Jessica for writing these words.

[Kate Willis]

I picked this up because I saw a couple sample poems on the author's social media and they spoke to my heart. While this collection is deeply personal and relates some experiences I've never had, I still found a lot to sit with, to highlight, and to heal my heart. 🤍

[Holly (The GrimDragon) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is...incredibly relatable, unfortunately. Oof.

[Andrea Klassen · Rating 5 out of 5]

hit way too close to home

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I generally dislike poetry, and had never heard of this author until this morning when I kept seeing snippets of this book posted on my Facebook feed. Unlike usual poems, each one spoke to me. As a parentified child of a mother who was undiagnosed Borderline, it was almost as though this book were written for me - word for beautiful, painful, heart-wrenching, word. With my mom's death almost three years ago, I've been learning to parent my own almost three year old daughter in ways that I wasn't. It's by no means an easy journey to navigate for any parent, but to know that others share my experience takes away some of the challenge.

"We break the cycle the best way we know how: either by holding our children the way we should’ve been held, or by choosing not to have them at all.   It doesn’t erase the ache, but it proves we are more than what we were given.   We became everything they couldn’t. We became the ending they never gave us."

[olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

did not intend to devour this in one sitting but here we are.

i commend jessica jocelyn for being able to put these kinds of feelings into words. it's difficult - and as such my review is going to be short and sweet, but: tears were shed, lines were highlighted, and now i simply have to pass the book to a friend.
beautifully, heartbreakingly written.

♡

[Lateacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Careful, this deep pool is one you can drown in if the Ghost of your Mother follows you.

[Frankie Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed this…

Reading this has helped heal a broken part of myself. Granted my mother is still alive but we no longer talk. I wish I could forgive her but I truly can’t. What her and my father put me through is something I would never wish on someone…highly recommend this book to people who need to heal…even if it’s a little bit of healing

[Shannon Pifher · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The soundtrack of my childhood was slammed doors, raised voices, and the cracking of eggshells under my feet. Now, all I want is calm. I want peaceful mornings and laughter. For my children to feel safe in my arms. That’s how I’ll know I made it.”

[Calynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I wasn’t just the eldest daughter.
I was the shield,
the mouthpiece,
the stand in mother.
I wore those roles so well that
they forgot I was a child.
And eventually
so did I.”

“They say its in my blood, that I was born this way.
I was wired wrong,
fused from my mothers sadness and my fathers violence.
But I remember the nights
she would scream at walls
that never gave her peace.
The way I watched instead of slept,
memorizing her storms
so I'd know how to survive mine.
They say its nature,
but I know it was nurture too.
How can a child raised in fire not grow flames of their own?”

“It would be easier if I hated you, Mom.
If I could leave you behind and never think of you again.
If I could box up all the holidays and birthdays.
I dont hate you.
I carry you.
Even when youre heavy.
Even when it hurts.
Even now.”

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect this book to hit me the way it did. I lost my mother in a car wreck 3 years ago. A lot of the poems out of this book directly reflected how I felt about our relationship, my childhood and the choices I make today. Highly recommend if your mother had unresolved trauma & needed therapy. or if you have unresolved trauma and need therapy. this book will speak directly to your soul.

[Carrie Szalkie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must-Read whether you are daughter of a narcissistic mother or not

Powerful, beautifully written, emotional, validating, sad but soulful. Short but a very strong read with no filler. It's a waterfall of truth that will validate every feeling you've ever had as a daughter of a narcissistic mother. Read it if you are one and read it if you're not.

[Lyndsey Naif · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best thing I could’ve been fed on Instagram- a few poems from this book that made me feel seen so I had to get the book and was such an emotional read but made my experiences feel valid and really encouraged my current path of growth from my childhood.

[Jessica Johnson]

I wanted to find a type of solace in a book about grieving your mother. But her broken relationship had no resemblance to the love that I was raised in. I didn't want to rate this book because although it was beautifully written, it was not written for me.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal, heart wrenching book of poems. Essential for mommy issues girlies who are moms themselves.

[Kristen Pullin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyways, so I cried...a lot.

[Ashley Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of poems is heartbreakingly relatable. My husband bought me a copy and I have so many pages marked, lines highlighted, and tears shed over these poems.

[Lindsey B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poems full of things I wish I had heard years ago

[Roberta · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the daughters of broken mothers.

[Vanessa Amaral · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ouch. This hurt my feelings