Two Funerals, Then Easter

by Rachel Joy Welcher

A Collection of Poems

Genres: Poetry, Christian

138 pages, Paperback

Published December 5, 2018

About the author

Rachel Joy Welcher is an author, poet, and acquisitions editor at Baker Books.

Reviews

[Barnabas Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best collections of poems I have ever read. If you have been through loss, suffered great pain, and are still looking for hope these poems are a gift. I had the chance to endorse the book before it released, and I recently went back and read it again because I wanted to take more time and appreciate it more fully. Here is what I wrote for the endorsement:

"I made the mistake of opening this book at my daughter’s swim meet. Opening it wasn’t a mistake—quite the opposite—but doing so when I wasn’t in a place to sit and think and feel and grieve and hope was. Rachel’s poems draw on all that from me - mind and soul. They’re beautifully crafted and beautifully true, as the best poetry should be. They are portraits of feeling and place and people and God - the stuff of real, true life."

[Laura Kauffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hauntingly poignant. I know it’s literary sacrilege but I tend to binge read poems.

A girl gets hungry.

So I read the entire collection in one sitting. But now I find that her words pop up again at the strangest times. Just a line here, a phrase there. Always inviting me deeper into the weight or beauty or just plain honesty of the moment.

These are the kinds of words you want standing watch on your bookshelves.

[Shelby Deeter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I feel I will pick up over and over again and memorize and quote my favorite parts. Welcher writes like humans feel — deeply and authentically. I found my heart was warmed and my eyes were teary in all the right ways. Having been walking through a season of depression for a lot of this year, there were poems in this book that reached off the page, said what I was feeling, and hugged me right when I needed to be hugged. I can't recommend this book enough. This collection of poems is beautiful and we all need to read more beautiful things.

[Shaneen Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of poetry follows Welcher's journey through divorce and finding love again. She writes about the pain, the hope, and the joy of the little mundane things, like sleep and watching TV and conversations and flowers growing by a tree. It's an honest and simple glimpse of a journey through pain and finding new life.

[Gretchen Ronnevik]

This poetry book draws you in, almost unexpectedly. What appears to be many individual poems turns out that each poem is like a photo in a photo album and they all fit together into a story. There are poems in here that I have put to memory, and poems that have a line that just stuns you and make you cry. Writing poetry this beautiful and this accessible is not easy, and I think this will be one I will enjoy going through yearly.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading, thinking that I would just read a couple poems and then move on to another book. I found myself trying to read slower, to soak them in, but an hour later I closed the book with a heavy sigh, wishing there was more to read. Welcher's poetry is beautiful and true, and she invites the reader to share both pain and hope, sorrow and joy. One of the best books I've read this year.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems (the first half, especially) are so vulnerable they're painful to read. Since that's how I'm feeling just now, this collection was actually a perfect fit. There are beautifully expressed thoughts here that are entirely relatable. Recommended.

[Kristin Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this cover to cover in one day. I could not put it down.

[Joelle Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ugly cried my way through this book. Somebody actually saw my whole soul. ❤️❤️

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get this book. This poetry is brilliant and fantastic. I can not recommend it more highly!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poems is absolutely magnificent. It is full of pain and hope, brokenness and renewal, loss and new life, and Welcher never shies away from diving deep into those extremes and every space in between.

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, not poems that worked well for me.

[Schuyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a resonant collection of grief and hope. Reading these poems feels like a two-fold gift: the grace of hearing Rachel tell her story, and the catharsis of finding words for one's own. Every time I open her poetry volumes I'm torn because I want them to last for a very long time, but I can't stop reading long enough to make that possible. These words will continue to be dear companions in my own season of deaths and resurrections.

If you enjoyed this one, definitely check out her equally as beautiful work "Sometimes Women Lie About Being OK."

[Jennifer Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first time to read a full book of poetry and it was delightful.

[Haley Baumeister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly, I’ve never been one to gravitate toward reading poetry (outside of song lyrics). Part of that could be I’ve never known where to start, part of it was not knowing the breadth and variety of poetry out there.

The way this collection brings you through a storyline — in chapters and vignettes — was something I absolutely loved. Poems on their own can be beautiful, but weaving together a narrative is even better in my mind.

The scenes were visceral and the spectrum of emotions palpable. I forget how good this medium is at showing vs. telling. You might find yourself losing your breath from a scene capturing something so universal, yet so personal to Rachel — a gut-punch of the pain or joy she gently invites you into.

This was a beautiful collection.

[Esther Parks · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was an exceptional read! It is a lovely gift to a grieving heart. I read it in one sitting and plan to re-read it slowly! Rachel has a gift for sure!

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poems was a short read, but one that will stick with me for much longer than it took me to read through it. Rachel's poetry has a beautiful simplicity about it, while also diving deep into loss, grief, brokenness, hope, joy, love, doubt, and peace. I was reminded of God's love and goodness, even in the dark night of the soul. I picked up Two Funerals, Then Easter already knowing I would love it, as I've read Rachel's poems on Twitter and in Fathom Mag. But I didn't know just how much I would love it. Rachel has a gift and a unique style that reminds me a little of ee cummings (even before her mention of him in one poem). I highly recommend this honest walk through loss, grief, healing, and hope.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poems is stunning! There is intense grief and incredible joy. The faithfulness of God through good times and bad is evident on each page. Rachel lets you sit next to her as she shares her raw emotions. I felt honored to be invited into that space with her. If you're anything like me, you'll sit down to read a poem or two, and then you'll get up a little while later after having closed the book.

[Emily Herron]

I finished this book in one evening. I couldn’t put it down. Welcher has a brilliant use of titles and hyphenated words, but more than that what she brings to her poetry is vulnerability and rich, deep thought. I loved it.

[Jennifer]

I will go back to this one again and again, if it ever leaves me.

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and hope-giving. Each poem showcases the “ordinary magic” of what it means to be alive. I cannot recommend this collection highly enough.

[LeeAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Her free verse poetry felt like a conversation with a friend bearing their deepest hurts and grief and then sharing the beauty of second chances and God’s grace.
I will return to this one again.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed collection of very personal poems. Some spoke across that stretch of not knowing specific experiences and others didn't.

[Richard Harbison · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book of poetry that is sad, joyful, and funny. I cannot highly recommend enough.

[Emily Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rachel reminded me to find poetry in the ordinary. She reminded me of the parts of my soul that had been quiet for many years. I grieved with her abandonment. I hoped with her new love. I was anxious when she doubted its truth. I was pointed to God.

Read this so you’ll be reminded that poetry is living and can be found in coffee cups and grocery carts.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It's ok to not look back.
It's ok to look forward to the future
with a broken heart and a limp.
Is there any other way to
travel toward God
this side of heaven?"

This is just one of many passages within these poems that I know will stay with me. I've not read much poetry before, but appreciation for Rachel's work elsewhere led me to pick up this collection. I'm very glad I did. Her poems are poignant, honest, and ultimately full of hope even as they address the pain and difficulties of life.

[Starla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was unfamiliar with Welcher but stumbled onto her work through another book or article with a reference to her (which is how I stumble onto many good books). I found her poetry simple but artful, personal but relatable. She writes of pain and progress and perseverance through some difficult life experiences in most of her poems but also writes of simple observations and meaning in the everyday things of life, all with the foundation of Christian faith. While the collection starts off in a dark place (seemingly a relationship that ended in breakup or divorce), it moves toward personal redemption and restoration (thus the title Two Funerals, Then Easter). As I read her work, I found myself thinking, "Hey! I could do this . . ." not in the sense that I could necessarily write as well as she does but in that I could look closely at the simple things in my life and learn from them or just find pleasure in taking notice of the natural poetry of life around me. My hat is always off to a writer who inspires me like that!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short enough to read in one day; yet deserving of many savored re-readings. Simple and accessible; yet deep and probing.

Organized in roughly chronological order, Two Funerals, Then Easter tells the story of love lost and love regained. It revels in the tiny moments that make life, and reveals the mingling of sorrow and joy that make us, well, human.

Saying so much with so little is perhaps one defining characteristic of poetry, and Rachel Joy Welcher does this skillfully. I was hooked from the opening lines. If you haven't read poetry in a while, this is a lovely step into that deep ocean. In fact, this book is a deep ocean.

[Courtney Sexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit it: I didn't want to finish the book, but I did. And I miss it terribly.

I was looking to include poetry into my reading this year and I'm so glad I started with this! It's modern poetry, incredibly relatable and though my life experience has been very different from the author's, I felt like I was reading my own feelings at times. The author takes us on a journey of loss and grief, redemption and insecurity, beauty, pain and hope all mixed together. It's a beautiful, soul-nurturing, introspective read.

I'd highly recommend this book. It brought tears to my eyes almost every time I picked it up but in such a healing, gentle, hopeful way. I just really didn't want it to end.

[Josh Beutler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I should have known this was going to open something inside me after the third day of reading the first poem and putting it down to try again tomorrow. Poetry is subjective and its appeal has a lot to do with taste and experience, so it seems almost impossible to give it a rating. That said, there were more moments when I had to put it down to try again another day. There may have even been a few tears. I already want to read them all again.