Teal Nostalgia

by Nicole Pierman

Teal Nostalgia is a collection of poems about a turbulent combustion of love, trauma, heartbreak, mental illness, and nostalgia.

Genres: Poetry

113 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2021

About the author

Nicole Pierman rocks out to metal, is obsessed with coffee, and (obviously) loves to write. She also write urban fantasy under the pen name Nicole Brona.

Writing is part of her DNA, but when Nicole’s not writing, she’s either baking, reading, or active on her YouTube channel.

You can find Nicole on these platforms:

Website → https://nicolepierman.com

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/Nicole-Pierm...

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU1G...

Merch Store: https://nicolepierman-shop.fourthwall...

Reviews

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teal Nostalgia is a lovely mix of poems about various personal topics. The challenges of faith. The ups and downs of love and mental illness. The trials of finding happiness in a sea of trauma and heartbreak. And finding a peaceful middle ground between nostalgia and future endeavors.

Each poem varies in length, theme, structure and writing style. Some are written like classical prose poems with flowery vocabulary which is a joy to read, others are written with a modern day style influenced by texting, pop culture and social media interactions (which I'm personally not a fan of, but it will certainly appeal to others.) Most of all I enjoyed the variation. It wasn't overwhelmingly sappy and cute, and it wasn't overwhelmingly morbid and nihilistic. It did a great job of keeping things balanced much like the events of everyday life.

Overall, a great little bundle with a lot of heart put into it. The constantly fluctuating ups and downs of both the themes and the style switch-ups made it feel refreshing and intimately personal.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fourth and final chapbook, Teal Nostalgia, is extremely personal. Before buying this poetry book, please read the content warnings and my explanation on the poems.

Many of these poems are about my struggles early on in my life. Please note, I am WAY better now than I was even four years ago, but that doesn't mean it'd be any less upsetting. I wrote these poems as a way to heal because my pain and suffering was immense.

My poems in Teal Nostalgia discuss sex, mental illness, love, heartache, childhood trauma, and religion. Many of these poems can be triggering for people with similar experiences. Please do not buy and read my poetry book if any of the subjects I mentioned are upsetting to you.

With that being said, Teal Nostalgia can also be a very healing poetry experience if you have coping mechanisms in place. The blooming, bright red and pink flowers on the cover are meant to give hope to not only myself, but my readers too. No matter how hard you are hurting, you can bloom into a beautiful person. All you need is love and some good mud to cultivate your healing journey.

Healing isn't a linear experience; I know from personal experience. It can be gut-wrenching, depressing, and extremely difficult. But it can be done. These poems will show you healing from old, festering wounds is possible, and the scars that are left over are beautiful because they show the world you survived.

[April Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, thank you to Nicole for gifting me with an ARC of this book before its release, in exchange for my honest review.

Something I've always loved about Nicole's writing style is her use of descriptions. They're raw, honest, emotional, enthralling, and I could go on, really. Here, she uses these descriptions to create a beautiful image and tell a gut-wrenching personal story within each poem that leaves the reader mesmerized. Not to mention, her metaphors are absolutely breath-taking.

Reading this book, I couldn't help but feel like I was falling deep into a well of those emotions and began to lose myself. What Nicole does is allows the readers to consume a piece of her life through various themes (such as love, sex, mental health, etc.), triggering topics, intense and so much more. I also found myself relating to a lot of the poems in Teal Nostalgia.

Overall, to anyone who enjoys an intense poetry collection that deals with heavy subject matters head on, I can't recommend this book enough.

[MJ Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10 Definitely heed the content warnings!!

Beautiful, painful, and furious in turns. Favorite pieces: "Picture Book," "God Talks, Satan Talks," and "T for Therapy"
Ends on a perfect note that resonated deep in my poet heart.

[Brianna Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is filled with heartfelt, vulnerable poetry dealing with mental health, trauma, healing, and sensuality.

Most poems are pretty short, yet emotionally potent. After reading a handful of lines I'm left there staring at the wall, absorbing what I just read. Because of this, I worked through the book relatively slowly. And maybe that's the best way to read poetry after all.

The poems are all pretty unique from each other, too, taking on different rhythms and styles. Each one stands on its own.

That being said, not every poem here resonated in the same way. It's hard to say if that's an issue with me as the reader, or if some poems in the book are just stronger than others.

Here are my favorites:
"Deception of Traveling Pumps"
"Childhood Smallness"
"Snow"
"Petal Showers"
"The Gods' Grand Hotel"
"Abyss"
"Softly Wild"

I think "Snow" is my all-time favorite, and it's only 9 words. It evokes some of my own nostalgia, because it makes me think of some the poetry my mom used to read to me when I was a kid.

Here's that poem in its entirety:

Snow-capped sky
ice crystals form, air
becomes white.

😊 So lovely. It just hits me in a way I can't describe.

Thank you so much to Nicole Pierman for a copy in exchange for an honest review!

(My rating: 4.5 stars, rounded to 5)

[Briana Mae · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing about poetry is, you never know where the words will lead you, the nostalgia and the harrowed whispers it’ll inspire. It truly knows no rules, no limits. But, it takes a certain type of artistry to be able to command such beauty amidst the raw, the pain, the vulnerable; an artistry which Pierman has achieved with this anthology.

26 letters, and an abundance of words at her disposal, Pierman has crafted a collection of poems, each as significant and vulnerable as the last. Her beautiful use of imagery boasts of stories and feelings that whisper to her readers hearts, and breaths life and an acknowledgment of mutual understandings into ones soul. By her words, various shades of life and it’s experiences - the beautiful and the not so much - are painted before your eyes; tales of love, sex, mental health, and different experiences of trauma just to name a few. This collection truly takes your appreciation for words, and the emotions that fuel them, to that next level.

Raw and engaging, Teal Nostalgia is the perfect collection for those seeking poetry that’ll speak honestly and with no restraint as it tackles those heavy topics head on and in ways you might not have understand before.

[Sirbooksage · Rating 4 out of 5]

The road from trauma towards healing is a winding, twisting road. A journey through the loss of self, through heartache and pain. Through love and sex and how they can be pure and healing and cruel and punishing. Teal Nostalgia is a window into the past of lives shattered into myriad pieces slowly finding their ways back together. Who you were before a traumatic experience will never be who you will become. But in the midst of pain and anger and fear, and that suffocating punishment of the self for the sins of others, there is a way forward towards healing, towards becoming who you can be in this new world of yours.

A peek into one such journey can be found here in this collection of poems. There is love and loss and anger and pain and all the other things life can do to you. And Nicole weaves her tapestry through these poems. Each page is one of discovery for the reader as the focus and content of each poem varies making this read always interesting, and unexpected. Most of the poems are short and their styles vary to suit the words and the message. Overall, a compelling read.

There are heavy subjects tackled here and Nicole gives you fair warning up front about what you will be reading for those who might not want or are not yet able in their own journeys to walk alongside these poems.

Thank you to Nicole for the honor of getting to read this before it's release.

[Vee Lozada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry lovers, don't pass on Teal Nostalgia, a book filled with beautiful poems. I adored each of them.

[Dave Ally · Rating 5 out of 5]

One sentence summation: Teal Nostalgia is wet, often direct, sometimes raw, with the emotion of a swimming fight for positive life.

How do I introduce you to my impressions of Teal Nostalgia and the author’s apparent journey?

A boat moves through rippling water, spray and undulations emanate from the hull, a wake is born. Waves travel from where the boat has cut its path until shore is found. Some of that energy brings change to the shore, some rebounds to cross the water again.

In my little allegory, the water is the fluid part of a life, the shore is where movements of the water leave a somewhat observable, more lasting record of change. The author of Teal Nostalgia walks a trail over land and rock near the shore, and sometimes detours into the water’s edge, telling us of the journeys she’s had as some of the boats travelled through. Some boats criss-crossing there were welcome, some were not. One of the cruel boats seems to have been named Trauma.

In my view, the writing in Teal Nostalgia is not that of an older sage who weaves a considered tapestry meant to carefully, gently, almost unknowingly, draw the reader into an experience. No. Rather, it is the commentary of a swimming competitor who has just come from the water and is still drying off when a reporter asks, “How did you feel, swimming that race?” To answer the question, the author throws the reporter and herself back into the pool and says, “Let me show you.” As a person somewhat familiar with dysfunction and a life of recovery in the wake of beginning to recognize some of the effects of trauma, this reviewer interprets the poetry of Teal Nostalgia as telling several facets of a journey and recovery. The language of Teal Nostalgia is wet, often direct, sometimes raw with the emotion of a swimming fight for positive life.

If I’ve left you with the impression that this book is not all a fluffy puppy in a sweet smelling, colorful meadow on a bright spring day, you would be correct. That is not to say readers won’t find bright or hopeful moments - I hope readers would - but this is not, end to end, lighthearted brewing. Have you a taste for such?

The author cautions regarding triggers. I would agree but also add that if you’ve been through personal trauma and are processing, or are ready to process, parts of your journey (hopefully with able help as needed), some of the writing in Teal Nostalgia may be a catalyst for eventual positive results rather than just negatively triggering. If you’ve been through trauma, or if trauma has been through you, be prepared for some recalling of emotion related to the waves that have been in your life.

If you’ve not had trauma, I suggest reading each selection as someone walking a mile in another person’s shoes. Be as slow and careful as needed to let the import of each phrase be carried into thought and emotion. It could be that a capacity for understanding and compassion will grow just a bit more.

The author deals with other issues that would have been developing through a young life in parallel with trauma, and alongside processing that trauma during early adult life - aspects of sexuality, spirituality, and treatment are three - and owns her thoughts unapologetically. Agree or not with the expressions, they are offered with an exposing, intimate, sometimes ruthless honesty.

I am reminded of parts of my own journey. Because I am far enough through my own healing, I appreciate the open, direct, ‘know me, know my path’ attitude found in much of Teal Nostalgia. If you are in a fragile state, I caution you. If you have been or are on a healing path, may the reminders help you see you are not alone in seeing the past, the present, and looking forward. If woes such as the author’s have not touched you, may you find yourself thankful, open of heart and mind, to offer acceptance, even kindnesses, to those who have such difficulties to navigate.

At first I had in mind to offer some of the most potent language in a few excerpts, but I realized that for some readers of this review, that would be unwise, unkind. I hope these are close enough to that potency to provide some hints without harm.

From ‘Panicked Body Scan of A Survivor’:

“When my mind knows I'm scared
a trigger happens, I disappear.
Lost in a whirl of sensations
no matter how hard I try,
I'm terrified all the time.
Does anyone else know?
Does anyone else notice?”

From ‘Little Me, I Understand’:

“Little child, hear me roar
your fears, your dark memories
I understand, I understand.
I know you want to be free
from the pain, the blame, the memories
but we weren't at fault.
All that you make up are lies
from chaos, fear, survival
from an abnormal, disgusting situation.
I understand your turmoil
but please, let me breathe
because I know he never let us breathe.”

From ‘T For Therapy’:

“My new therapist saw me and smiled
he knew me since I was a child.
‘Your mind's strong and stubborn
you have a beautiful soul
and a beautiful mind
that's made up of mud
that won't go away.
But in mud, gorgeous lotus flowers bloom
and that's where we're heading towards,
right now, today.’”

[J.D. Estrada · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an advanced copy of this collection for an honest review.

One of the things I most love about poetry is the variety we can explore in our words. Some collections stick to one style, form, or theme, others show range and Teal Nostalgia is of the latter. I'd describe this collection as an emotional Rorschach Test to a certain degree because with every page you pass, you're led to a different feeling or emotion and where you come from and from where you read will determine if some pieces are triggering, cathartic, or insightful.

Some pieces are 2 or 3 pages long, exploring a lot of themes or letting us tag along while Pierman does some intense soul searching. Other pieces are 3 lines long and smack you right in the center of your chest. We explore mental health, love, frustration, traumas of all kinds, survivor mentalities, sex and sexuality, and countless other topics. The collection begins with a warning that some pieces can and probably may trigger the reader...though the sequence keeps you guessing, and I found that extremely engaging.

Emotionally speaking, this collection is raw and honest, which is how I like my poetry. If you like to read things that may be intense though ALWAYS real, then give this a go.

[Deanna Blackburn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I... am not a fan. While I related to a lot of the topics, the way they were approached was odd to me. I also wasn't a fan of the writing style. I enjoyed the bits about their inner child, and the inner turmoil that causes, but that was about it. The rest was so.. eh to me.