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When it Starts to Hurt
When life starts to hurt, what do you do?
Do you let the pain destroy you or do you become stronger and conquer it?
Come take this bittersweet journey with Rama, as she examines emotions we are often told to ignore--our ability to feel, understand and deal with pain.
When It Starts to Hurt is composed of three parts that explore how we talk about (or never talk about) death, addiction, mental illness, and harmful relationships.
No topic is too sensitive, or taboo, as Rama challenges the idea of normality and formality, with blunt, laconic and poignant poems.
Do you let the pain destroy you or do you become stronger and conquer it?
Come take this bittersweet journey with Rama, as she examines emotions we are often told to ignore--our ability to feel, understand and deal with pain.
When It Starts to Hurt is composed of three parts that explore how we talk about (or never talk about) death, addiction, mental illness, and harmful relationships.
No topic is too sensitive, or taboo, as Rama challenges the idea of normality and formality, with blunt, laconic and poignant poems.
- GenresPoetry
108 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2016
4 people are currently reading
334 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 14, 2017
True poetry....Rama's words made me feel all the sad emotions of being human. Looking forward to reading her "happy love" book next.
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July 16, 2020I am choosing not to assign a star rating for this book. I have barely read any poetry in my life, and don’t know how to judge quality. Consider this a novice review with value only to other novice poetry readers. I read through each poem at least twice to try to maximize the meaning I got from them, but I admit I did not understand them all.
The poetry in this book is split into three distinct sections with different themes. The first section, “Another Kind of Normal,” has a mixture of topics, but many centered on the self. Some are positive, many are wistful. My favorite poem in the book, What I Am, is here. It’s a statement of defiance from a girl who refuses to fit the mold society would set her in. My favorite verse:
When you look,
you look up.
I am that girl that sparks fire.
Magical and inspiring. The whole poem has beautiful turns of phrase.
I had the most trouble with the second section, “Bones Do Not Exhale.” I found many of the poems in that section difficult to comprehend. Reading expressions of dark emotion with vague meaning isn’t really my thing. If you’re looking for a way to relieve some pent-up negative emotions, you might be more into reading these than I was.
The third section, “Love Like This,” is a collection of poems about love, passion, and love lost. Mostly romantic love, but some familial. I quite liked several of the poems here, especially Walked Home, a melancholy reflection of a partner who no longer fulfils their promises of support. I also liked the playful passion in Fly and New Year.
Across all of these poems, even the ones that weren’t to my taste, I could respect many interesting turns of phrase. I appreciate the author’s wordcraft.
The poetry in this book is split into three distinct sections with different themes. The first section, “Another Kind of Normal,” has a mixture of topics, but many centered on the self. Some are positive, many are wistful. My favorite poem in the book, What I Am, is here. It’s a statement of defiance from a girl who refuses to fit the mold society would set her in. My favorite verse:
When you look,
you look up.
I am that girl that sparks fire.
Magical and inspiring. The whole poem has beautiful turns of phrase.
I had the most trouble with the second section, “Bones Do Not Exhale.” I found many of the poems in that section difficult to comprehend. Reading expressions of dark emotion with vague meaning isn’t really my thing. If you’re looking for a way to relieve some pent-up negative emotions, you might be more into reading these than I was.
The third section, “Love Like This,” is a collection of poems about love, passion, and love lost. Mostly romantic love, but some familial. I quite liked several of the poems here, especially Walked Home, a melancholy reflection of a partner who no longer fulfils their promises of support. I also liked the playful passion in Fly and New Year.
Across all of these poems, even the ones that weren’t to my taste, I could respect many interesting turns of phrase. I appreciate the author’s wordcraft.
February 25, 2019
Poetry
This book is a book that deals with things that are hard to talk about like depression and anxiety. Rama explains these emotions in great detail and I think it is easy to relate to.
9th grade and up- some concepts hard to understand
This book is a book that deals with things that are hard to talk about like depression and anxiety. Rama explains these emotions in great detail and I think it is easy to relate to.
9th grade and up- some concepts hard to understand
January 13, 2023
I could not read this book it was so hard to understand. I wanted so badly to be able to relate but I truly couldn’t interpret the pages. I would love to read it again to see if I can better understand the writing.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews