Don't Tell Me Not to Ask Why: Poetry & Prose

by Samantha King Holmes

Maybe all the answers to all your questions are living within you, waiting to be discovered after finding more of yourself.

Don’t Tell Me Not to Ask Why , Samantha King Holmes’s second solo poetry collection following her bestselling  Born to Love, Cursed to Feel , is a mirror that reflects our honest truths. Holmes’s poems are like little stories, hooking readers while navigating issues like body image, family relationships, loneliness, failed relationships, and finding belonging. Don’t Tell Me Not to Ask Why is a call to introspection, a demand for honesty, and an affirmation of second chances.

Genres: Poetry

112 pages, Paperback

First published March 19, 2019

Reviews

[Zoë!]

The cover is pretty so.

[Casey Kiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars. This book is wonderful. I recommend this collection if you want to read some youthful poems that are not wrapped up in bullshit but just simple, focused and connected.
Here are some lines from a love poem I found so relatable and lovely:

Bound to You

'They didn't teach me what love is
There wasn't a good example set
Romance gets focused on so much,
but people forget to mention the substance
Here I am concerning myself with your health
and focusing on the minute details of your life
'cause I want you in mine'

'I've learned all the things it wasn't
and so many of the ways it shouldn't feel
They didn't tell me it could heal
They didn't tell me what love is
You're the one that showed me'

[Linsey Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

In February, I committed to reading and reviewing poetry and was really excited about this title. Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with or finish Don't Tell Me Not to Ask Why. It didn't engage my senses in a way that moved or inspired me. Instead, it struck me as a very raw grievance. This work is definitely reflective of incredible vulnerability, but as a reader I felt weighed down by it. Don't Tell Me Not to Ask Why elicited a lot of sympathy, but the self-awareness and "bigger picture" vision that I long for in poetry seemed tangled up with a great deal of pain and anger that's yet to be sorted through. I appreciate Samatha King Homes' courage and think some readers will find solace in knowing they're not alone in the intensity of emotions and experiences she shares in Don't Tell Me Not to Ask Why's pages.

[Angelica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a really nice book of original poetry. Often it felt as if I was reading someone’s private diary, as if I was eavesdropping into their mind at different stages of their life or reflections of a time that had profound impact on them. It was touching and raw. I’m positive that in her writings, she was able to release a great deal of emotions. Many of the poems are quite relatable, but the poem that struck a huge cord with me was titled, To My Vessel. That poem sucker punched me, as I realize how I don’t offer enough self-love to my own vessel and what it’s gotten me through. I recommend this book to anyone who loves poetry and prose or for those who might need to be inspired to write their own healing prose. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ability to read and review this work.

[Astro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly don’t think it was bad, it just wasn’t for me. I don’t like to critique poetry because it’s so subjective but the poems didn’t feel personal to me, but some of them were good and hit hard.

[Tyler Jenkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samantha King Holmes writes poetry that I find much more meaningful and easier to connect to than her husband RH Sin. Not that he writes bad poems he just keeps repackaging the same thing in different layouts and focuses on making poems for other people. Samantha writes for herself. These poems are connected to her because they are her, their portraits of her life, pieces of her story. She’s not trying to inspire people she’s never met, she’s just sharing her emotion. I think many of the poems can be a little clunky and come out weird but it’s a good collection that’s definitely worth a read.

[Héloïse Braun · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very easy read- nothing all that extraordinary but simple, emotion-full, and cute.

“You are my favorite piece of everything”

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holmes' collection of poetry and prose is filled with beautiful longing, incredible vocabulary, and amazing topics.  She discusses family, childhood, love, bodies, travel, and more.  Her writing is aesthetically pleasing both in design and in word, and each poem asks for something different in response.  This is best read, in my opinion, with a cup of tea and near a window to gaze out of.  If you're a fan of poetry, don't miss out on this collection!

[Shanay Hamilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Left me feeling Empty

Book took an emotional toll on me.. left me feeling empty and on edge. This book should’ve remained a journal.

[Jackie Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha King Holmes expresses love, grief, and the burdens of life through her poetry & prose. The book begins with poems about feeling misunderstood, silenced, and cast aside as a child and as a woman in this world. It eagerly moves into the grief and sadness she felt bottling up these emotions for years, not knowing when she would have the chance to share them. Holmes writes about feeling weak, and the pressure of not knowing when things will get better for her. The book slowly transitions into a pleasant view of life. The imagery she describes from her time in Europe, her evenings with her husband, and the hours she spent working on herself and her mental health are poetically evident. The love and experience she gained shifted her perspective, and she now had someone to express these emotions to. Her husband gave her hope, light, and love.
Here is a poem I especially enjoyed:

(Pg. 45) Searching for the Light

They say to find the beauty in your suffering
How?
When you’re wrapped in your grief
When you’re trying to steal breaths
through the sobs
Where is this beauty?
In the ghosts of tears upon your face
In the way the world seems to slow down
ensuring you feel every dreadful minute of it
Staring off for hours, riddled with an
overwhelming sea of emotions,
unable to release them
Still haven’t found it

[Bre · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
As with most poetry books, there are some really good ones in this but around the middle it started feeling very repetitive and I actually started skipping lines while reading because it was just so similar to the poem before it or two back. Honestly a lot of them just felt like they maybe needed another pass on edits which honestly tracks knowing that the author did a book with R.H. Sin who I also have issues with the repetitiveness of.
However, the ones I liked are definitely ones that will stick with me.

[Aidan Brazier · Rating 2 out of 5]

The imagery was pretty good: succinct and pictorial. However, the content of the poems/book kind of bothered me and was really more like reading a dear diary rather than a set of poems. I find it weird that she writes about other lovers and her past and stuff in such vivid ways while dedicating the book to her husband? Seemed to me honestly like a women trying to get over her past and still not understanding how to, while projecting that she has.
The imagery was good while the content was bad. Will probably look back at for expressive ideas but not to read again

[julia ☕️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This poetry/prose collection wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t necessarily that great either. The poems felt more like diary entries that aren’t fully fleshed out. The emotions and events depicted in the poems are definitely very real and relatable though. Out of all of the poems, my favorite was “Who will save the healers?” If you are looking for something to relate to when you’re in a tough place, this book is for you. However, if you’re looking for something more poetic, you may want to read another collection.

[emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enjoyed this book very much. it’s probably the first poetry and prose book i’ve read that had a very heavy stress onto the effects of family relationships. i love the way she explains the complexity of family relationships and how it truly reflects into your life, even as an adult, good and bad. there are a lot of great relatable pieces that i feel like many would enjoy reading, ranging from family relations to heartbreak to new, healthy love.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s hard to accurately “review” poetry as it’s just that, poetry. It’s subjective and deeply vulnerable. The poems were clearly a product of her most personal experiences, which added value in my opinion. However, I felt the poems towards the end were a bit disjointed from the coming of age experiences and the previous relationships touched on. Due to this, it reads more like a journal that a collection. I still really enjoyed the poems and felt a lot of them to resonate with me personally!

[Malaya Mattingly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually do not write book reviews, but this book definitely changed me. It had me feeling every emotion, from aching and heartbreak, to desiring the feeling of love again. This book was maybe the most well-rounded collection of poetry I have read in a long time and was definitely, by far, my favorite poetry collection I have ever read. It instilled a sense of healing and growth within me, and was super relatable and applicable to many aspects of life. Definitely recommend to any lovers of poetry and those who desire to feel deeply!!!

[Ajay Sawant · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this author but unfortunately, I was not impressed with this book. After reading the first 3 pages, I decided to return. It's very short and cliché.

The name of the book was really catchy so it definitely made me read through half of it. Her previous book is wonderful

[Aaronlisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is probably a 3.5 star read. I found some of the poems a bit repetitive in theme and language. I did enjoy some of the “happier” poems towards the end quite a bit. I don’t think I connected with the book quite like other readers have.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Miriam Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this women's writing style and I felt every word on every of this collection. One of my new favorites. Totally top shelf-worthy.

[Natalie Kaufman · Rating 4 out of 5]

remarkably visual prose, her writing invokes powerful emotions.

[Ev · Rating 3 out of 5]

some real highlights in here for me, a few page corners turned over to go back to, but a general modern poetry book about being broken ‘and making something really great out of that’.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I never know how to rate poetry books. Some are 5 stars, some are not. But the 5 stars hit really deep and I'm sure I'll come back to this book more than once.

[Charlee Remitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know a single person who couldn’t relate to this. It is magical because it is telling a story so many of us know. The story of pain and ignorance and finding yourself in spite of it all.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Night falls, and the wounds we try / to pretend we don't have begin to haunt us."

"You have me no illusions / You just happened to benefit / from the ones I created"

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

connected and consuming i am in love with this prose and poetry. wowwww

[Madilyn Etter · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A very personal collection of poems. There are several gems throughout the collection, however a lot of the subject matter did not resonate with the place of my life I am in.

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 parce que y'a quelques poèmes qui sauvent le tout

[Bree Theising · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha leaves us with a beautiful depiction of growth, realization, and love that can come out of trauma for ourselves and others.

[Adam F · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't good poetry, but it means a lot to me, so I guess that's something.