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In Five Years
"You don't heal from grief. You only heal around it." — from In Five Years.
In Five Years is a five-year long journey through the shifting landscapes of grief and loss. It is an intimate map of how absence reshapes a life. Across these poems, grief is not a single event but an evolving sharp and breathless in the beginning, muted and heavy in the middle years, and finally something that can be held without hurting you.This collection follows the author's transformation as they move through every stage of grief, the sorrow, remembrance, and the reluctant healing. Moments of raw feeling sit alongside quiet reflections, small mercies, and the unexpected beauty that emerges in the shadow of what’s gone once you're capable of seeing it.
At its core, In Five Years is a testament of how time changes the weight of memory and grief itself changes with us, and how love continues to exist even after loss. It is a record of survival, shaped by five years of navigating loss after loss.
In Five Years is a five-year long journey through the shifting landscapes of grief and loss. It is an intimate map of how absence reshapes a life. Across these poems, grief is not a single event but an evolving sharp and breathless in the beginning, muted and heavy in the middle years, and finally something that can be held without hurting you.This collection follows the author's transformation as they move through every stage of grief, the sorrow, remembrance, and the reluctant healing. Moments of raw feeling sit alongside quiet reflections, small mercies, and the unexpected beauty that emerges in the shadow of what’s gone once you're capable of seeing it.
At its core, In Five Years is a testament of how time changes the weight of memory and grief itself changes with us, and how love continues to exist even after loss. It is a record of survival, shaped by five years of navigating loss after loss.
- GenresPoetry
110 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 27, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 1, 2026
My mom just recently passed away and I’ve been reading to find words to grapple what I can’t seem to say myself. Beautiful words about grief and healing
March 6, 2026
Mae weaves a beautiful story of grief and the journey one goes through after losing someone. It's told through a five year period so you can really see how time softens grief but doesn't make it any less potent and real. Mae's writing often touches my heart and this is no exception. Highly recommend this book, especially for those going through a grief journey.
March 29, 2026
“I hope the earth has swallowed you whole.
I hope tree roots have torn their way inside your
coffin and now bloom your fingerprints on
their leaves. I hope the sap travels through the
tree the way blood once pumped through
your veins. I hope the bark feels a little too familiar
when I touch it, like the center of your palms.
I hope the earth has found you and given
you a new role to play and together, we still exist
at the same time.”
This is one of the most visually beautiful ways to describe death.
I hope tree roots have torn their way inside your
coffin and now bloom your fingerprints on
their leaves. I hope the sap travels through the
tree the way blood once pumped through
your veins. I hope the bark feels a little too familiar
when I touch it, like the center of your palms.
I hope the earth has found you and given
you a new role to play and together, we still exist
at the same time.”
This is one of the most visually beautiful ways to describe death.
April 18, 2026
I cried from start to finish
This book had me sobbing from the second or third poem. This was absolutely brilliant. This is the book you grab when you need to have a really good cry but have a box of tissues nearby.
This book had me sobbing from the second or third poem. This was absolutely brilliant. This is the book you grab when you need to have a really good cry but have a box of tissues nearby.
October 12, 2026
Poignant
Grief is never an easy subject, but there is something about reading someone else's feelings that mirror your own which makes you feel less alone and more like you are walking the right path even if the whole world feels wrong.
Grief is never an easy subject, but there is something about reading someone else's feelings that mirror your own which makes you feel less alone and more like you are walking the right path even if the whole world feels wrong.
July 9, 2026
absolutely beautiful. there is nothing else to say.
this would be a lovely gift for someone grieving a spouse or close friend.
this would be a lovely gift for someone grieving a spouse or close friend.
July 25, 2026
Read this in one sitting today on the 6 month anniversary of losing my mom. Beautifully puts grief into words I haven’t been able to find myself. This will be one I come back to over and over again.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews