Behind the Mask: A Collection of Poetry

by Helena Lancaster

"Like spiders laying in wait for their prey, the anxieties of daily life seem to lay dormant to attack us when we're most vulnerable. What's wrong with me? Will anyone love me? Why doesn't anyone care? Helena Lancaster takes these fears and turns them into a lyrical rumination. These haunting poems evoke a hero of the Byronic persuasion and female to boot!" - Erica Dawn

"Helena Lancaster's deeply emotional poetry shows the world a peek inside the soul of someone who has felt like an outsider, battled emotional abuse, and depression. These poems are an ode to days past for her, the physical remnants of where she has been. She sees herself as a survivor of some very painful events in life and just hopes that her words can help others know that in their darkest moments they're not alone."

Behind the Mask is the first professional publication by writer Helena Lancaster. It contains seventy-five of her poems split into four sections: Nightmares and Solitude, Faces in the Mirror, Haunted Memories, and Circus of Life. Helena has been writing since she was a child, using poetry as a way to deal with the pain of difficulties in life. Her poetry captivates and touches the soul of anyone who has ever felt like they were alone in the dark.

110 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2015

About the author

Helena Lancaster is a native of the Upstate region of South Carolina. She and her best friends, whom she refers to as her sisters, and their cats still reside there. She has been writing since she was a small child winning her first writing award at the age of seven. Her poetry, which she openly calls her personal form of therapy, became a major focus of her writing during her teenage years. Writing poetry has been a way to help her heal from the pain of her past and is a coping mechanism for her PTSD and Depression. She hopes that her writing can help others who have gone through similar struggles to know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel no matter how dark things may seem. Helena has studied creative writing, history, and literature with interests spanning multiple time periods and genres. She considers herself a student of the world having traveled through four European countries and lived in two of them for short periods of time. Helena is also an activist against bullying, animal cruelty, and for research and awareness of blood clotting disorders such as Factor V Leiden which she has been diagnosed with. She has released two collections of poetry, Behind the Mask: A Collection of Poetry and Phoenix from the Ashes: Poetry from Personal Struggle, Rebirth, and Triumph. She is also the co-writer of The Passion of the Dragon Saga along with her best friend, Rayna Kingston. They have released the first two books in the series, Hearts on Fire and Love in Flames, both subtitled The Story of Vlad the Impaler and the Women He Loved and are currently working on the third installment, Souls Ignited, to be released July 24, 2018. She is currently developing her first Fantasy Series, The Elements of Ilysia, projecting to release the first book, A Darkness Awakens, on February 28, 2018. She has several other novel projects that are shaping together with plans to release more poetry in the future.

Reviews

[Rayna Kingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lancaster's poetry in Behind the Mask: A Collection of Poetry, reveals all of her dark corners and makes you wonder if you have dark corners of your own. As you read each poem about abuse at the hands of a parent, betrayal from the blood as they turned their backs, and her thoughts of suicide, you are felt overwhelmed by emotions. Her words will bring tears of sadness and heartbreak as you read of the abuse to anger and resentment towards those who were to be her protectors. Helena's poems make you wonder how she ever decided to live another day. As I read this collection, I have to admit, they were hard to read at times. Only because her feelings pour out through her words and into you. You can almost feel every feeling she describes. I highly recommend these collection to anyone who has dealt with any form of abuse especially to the point of suicide. And for those who have not had to deal with issues of an abusive parent or loved one, as you read, you realize that no matter what, you can rise from what you are going through. Her poetry gives us all the chance to have our burning day and rise like a phoenix.

[Elīna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did expect something more going into this. More darker, more emotional, more real.
Majority of the poems felt very disconnected and the structure of them was, well, awkward at times. The same thing repeating over and over again, even the same comparisons were used in different poems. And the saddest thing of all, this didn't feel genuine.
There were some i did enjoy but overall it was a let down.
"Dark loneliness awaits
Filling me with sorrow
Everything is so empty
And yet is never hollow"