All Along You Were Blooming: Thoughts for Boundless Living

by Morgan Harper Nichols

A celebration of hope. An encounter with grace. A restoration of the heart. A healing of wounds. An anthem of freedom. This illustrated collection of poetry and prose invites you to stumble into the sunlight and delight in the wild and boundless grace you've been given.

Popular Instagram poet and bestselling author Morgan Harper Nichols gives you the ultimate love letter to your mind, heart, soul, and body, reminding

There is a purpose in every seasonNo matter how you want to race through this day or run away from this place, you are invited to live fully—right here, right nowLight will always find you, even when the sun sets and you sit awaiting the dawnYou are always blooming in the way you were meant to 

All Along You Were Blooming is perfect for self-gifting for your own affirmation or giving to others on Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, birthdays, and other holidays and milestone days. In each small moment, whether in the light or the dark, you can make room for becoming, for breathing, for stumbling, and for simply being—for there is grace, today and every day.

Follow Morgan on Instagram @morganharpernicols (along with her millions of followers), and look for more beautiful, thought-provoking poetry in her other

How Far You Have ComeYou Are Only Just Beginning

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Self Help, Mental Health, Christian, Audiobook, Psychology

188 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 21, 2020

About the author

Morgan Harper Nichols is an artist, poet, and musician who makes her work around people and their stories.

Morgan spent the first few years of her adult life as a college admission counselor, and then, as a full-time touring singer-songwriter and musician. It was on the road that she cultivated her curiosity and passion for the written word and art, and slowly began to share her art with others online.

In 2017, Morgan started a project where she invites people to submit their stories to her website. From there, she creates art inspired by what they send her, and then, sends them the art, for free. Nearly everything Morgan creates and shares today is from this project, and she always keeps the names and stories anonymous. The fruit of this project is shared daily around social media, in publications, on murals, and more.

Reviews

[Whitney Bak · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an editor, I'm not always a fan of what I read. As an English major, poetry was not my number one subject. But this collection from Morgan Harper Nichols was like having a breakthrough therapy session, then watching a TED Talk, and finally getting tucked into a warm bed by the author herself while the scent of lavender drifts from a marble-patterned essential oil diffuser. Translation: I'm so here for this.

Nichols writes with real people in mind, and that authenticity pierces every word, making each piece more relatable on a uniquely personal level while simultaneously reminding readers of our interconnectivity with one another. Her poems connected both with the specific circumstances of my life and timeless themes relating to the broader human experience. If you're looking for writing that will encourage you through your doubts about faith, adulting struggles, feelings of loneliness and isolation, fear of change, and uncharted new life experiences, cozy up and alow your mind to feast on the clever language, your heart to fill with compassion and validation, your eyes to delight in Pinterest-worthy spreads (did I mention that this book is BEAUTIFUL?), and your soul to rest in the knowledge that you are exactly who your Creator intended for you to be.

I'm genuinely looking forward to returning to this collection, almost as much as I'm looking forward to showcasing it on my coffee table.

[abigailscupoftea · Rating 5 out of 5]

my mom bought me this book and it is so beautiful. there are four sections: for the heart (what you feel), for the mind (what you think), for the body (what you do), and for the soul (who you are). this collection of poetry and artwork is so healing, creative, and encouraging. i think this would make a wonderful gift for a friend! 😇🕊🌸

[✨ A ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The narrator for this audiobook is what spoiled this for me. She sounded tired and robotic. Poetry should be read with feeling!

I must admit I zoned out at times because of how little I was enjoying her voice and then had to rewind the audio.

The poetry was.... Okay. Not anything that blew me away.

Next time I wont be an idiot and first listen to a preview.

✨ want to see which (modern) poetry collections I did enjoy? click here to view my goodreads fave poetry shelf ✨

___
I'm still in a mood for poetry so I'm excited to listen to this for the Reading Rush challenge!

« thank you to Libro.FM for the gifted ALC »

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

This was a beautiful poetry book that's been sitting on my shelf for far too long. I almost listened to the audiobook but I'm so glad I read the hardcover instead. I loved the poems and all the images and colors. Definitely something I will reference in the future.

[Elizabeth (Plant Based Bride) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Morgan Harper Nichol’s work on Instagram for years, so I had high hopes for this collection. Sadly, it didn’t live up to my expectations.

The poems felt repetitive and overtly religious, and were lacking in depth.

I feel MHN's poetry is more resonant in combination with her art and in the very short pithy form as it appears on her Instagram. It feels as though, in an attempt to extend her Instagram slides into longform poetry, the spark of her work was lost.

I hear the physical book is beautiful, but reading in ebook form or attempting to listen to the audiobook left much to be desired.

I’ll stick to MHN’s Instagram from now on.


VIDEO REVIEW: https://youtu.be/38cwhWXXnds

You can find me on...
Youtube | Instagram | Twitter

[Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. ✨💙

[Xeni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah I know, I’ve been reading this collection of “poems” since February. (Thanks for noticing! 😝) While I love the illustrations and messages from Morgan Harper Nichols, I’m not necessarily sure I would call this poetry. It’s more self help and encouragement for when times get tough. I find myself reaching for this book when I need some encouragement and love, but it’s definitely not the best poetry I’ve ever read. All that being said, it’s a beautiful book with lots of meaningful truths!

[disco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your small voice
has a way
of spilling into the rooms
where you thought there would be
no place for you.
Even when it is only
a word or two.
your small voice
has a way
of pushing through.

And if you happen to be
a little quieter,
and you sound differently from others,
the words you choose
resound with truth
all the same.

[Olivia | Liv's Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful.

[꧁ ꕥ James ꕥ ꧂ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is completely personal, however this isn’t poetry to me, but more a self help coffee table book.

[Helena (helenareadsxx) · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my new favourite poetry collections!

[Athena · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some silver linings and pithy wisdom within these poetic sermons, and certainly alot of genuine empathy. Reading it is like being wrapped up in a warm blanket of warmth in your own cozy presence.

Something to look out for though - multiple repetitive tropes are overused to the point that they don't mean anything any more after you've read about grace like 30 times into the bk. Sometimes they feel like they're being thrown in every 5 poems or so when Morgan didn't know what else to put in there to seal a piece off. To name a few of these:
- grace
- gratitude
- light
- the unknown
- water motifs, going across the shore / diving into the sea
- an awareness that [insert your current hardship] you won't be traveling alone
- no matter what, you will get out of this alive
- inexpressible moments overwhelmed with feelings
- godly references to there being a power that will look after you
- and this syllogism of "May you also know that despite X there is Y"

These tropes summarise 70% of the content in this anthology and to be honest it gets quite dull with every reiteration of them. They also hollow out a poem some times so that the message remains vague and insipid. I suppose this book really isn't meant to be read at one go, but even so I have to say I wish there could be more authenticity in terms of the crafting of words and message. So much more can be said about different universal experience such as gratitude, grief, fear, bravery, self-doubt, healing from old wounds and trauma, etc.

[Danielle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the most generic self-affirmations you can find, plus the poetry is not good. I had to force myself to focus on finishing this, because it was really easy to get distracted/lost when everything sounded the same.

[Oyinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 183 of 2021

A beautiful book through and through. I especially recommend the audiobook.

I need to read more poetry and this book was a huge sign in that direction! This was a short breath of fresh air and I doubly recommend the audiobook, read by the author.

This book calmed me and was like the author was affirming me at every turn.
‘You are not weak because you are lonely’
‘this took everything out of you but the struggle was beautiful and necessary for your growth’

I loved so many things about this book and it was about the ugly parts of life that are important to experience and appreciate the beauty. It’s about growing pains and it’s about self-love.
Pick this up, ASAP!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty, and that's about it. There's some stuff with potential here, but the whole thing feels like a collection of first drafts. I say "drafts," but it's basically the same "poem" over and over, and when you read the same poem over and over for 192 pages (192?! A red flag, tbh), then the words lose any meaning they might have had. The messages are nothing special, the word choice is overall nothing special. The writer needed to cut and revise and, idk, edit literally at all, and she probably could've produced a small book of solid poetry. But as it is, it's very basic and very, very repetitive. So many blooms, breathes, graces, loves, meant to bes, etc. Save your time!

[Sarah Ryder]

****DNFed at page 140 something I can’t be bothered to look up 😂****

I had heard great things about this poetry collection and as I’m dabbling in more poetry here and there to figure out what I like in this “genre”, so to speak, I was excited to try this one.

At first it wasn’t obvious and I liked a few of the poems, but the further in I got, the more frustrated I became and I couldn’t figure out why. Frustration led to boredom and when I was nearly done and ready to quit it finally hit me why I didn’t like it; I couldn’t connect with it.

Poetry is a deeply emotional thing and it just wasn’t clicking with me. I personally found it very “fluffy Christian” which isn’t a bad thing but it’s not something I like as I find it’s just too…shallow. Shallow and repetitive, as after awhile I thought all the poems sounded the same and were even being recycled to a certain point. The poetry I’ve connected with so far has all been deeply raw and bare and sometimes bloody and that’s not what this is.

I have no doubts this collection connects with many, but unfortunately I’m not one of them.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found it to be really inspiring and motivating. It feels almost therapeutic reading this. The words, colours and illustrations were so calming to read and see. I’ll definitely revisit some of my favourites that I’ve tabbed!

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn’t so much of a normal content warning but this book has text illustrated that is often quite small and rathe cursive to read, just a heads up.

I was surprised to come across an ARC of this on Edelweiss, I had no idea that Morgan was releasing a poetry book! (That’s a big FU to Instagram for messing with feed algorithm!!!)

Anyway, I loved seeing more of Morgan’s art. Her art is so expressive and original. The only reason I gave this collection 4 stars was actually because of the poetic style. Surprisingly, the majority of the poetry has spiritual themes, leaning more towards religious vibes. Morgan’s IG work doesn’t really have that vibe, at least the way I interpreted her work. But obviously Morgan creates her poetry and affirmations from her faith. It is evident in the art also. I enjoyed most of the affirmations, but after a while, it became rather repetitive. The only thing that really didn’t repeat itself was Morgan’s artwork.

[angelpompom · Rating 3 out of 5]

all along you were blooming - 3.5 stars ✨


while I did enjoy some of this book a lot also feel flat. this is not my typical poetry, I usually read depressing one (😭🤣) I thought maybe I would enjoy an uplifting christian one, unfortunately I found it more of a self-help book. Something that wousl make the perfect “sorry for your loss” gift💓 it was repetitive which I gather is the point but just didn’t work for me🫣 I would recommend for anyone who needs a little more light shedded into your life, hope this one works out for you🫂💓

[Katrina (rusticpages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

My rating: 4.5/5

[Hannah Mignard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tried a new genre with poetry and really enjoyed this book! I read a few poems each day and found it to be encouraging and a nice change of pace!🪻🌸🌺🌻

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so beautiful. I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves poetry or even if you don't!

"If ever you have been afraid to fly
for fear of where you'd land,
and you have struggled to find peace
in what you do not understand,
know that trusting is better than knowing
there is ground beneath your feet
because, my dear, courage is found
in believing beyond what you can see."

[Rachel | All the RAD Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

We have all fallen in love with @morganharpernichols on insta, and I’m here to tell you the love and gratitude for her work only grows seeing it in print. How many times did I tear up reading these poems? Too many to count. Too good.

[Nicole H · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is beautiful, but the poetry is lacking for me. It's extremely repetitive to the point where she uses the same words and phrases in nearly every single poem so it has less of an emotional effect by the end of the collection.

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful poetry collection, both visually and in its writing. Morgan captures the confusion and beauty of being human. She pulls beauty from the little moments and shines light on imperfections. It’s a comfort read, for sure.

[rue mortensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

if i could give this book a thousand stars, i would.
everyone needs to read this beautiful book. i can't put into words how much this has helped my mental health.

please read this book <3

[fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

i just bought this book on a whim & i'm so glad that i did!! i've been obsessed with poetry recently, although i've only read a few actual poetry books, this one was still so good! the art, the writing, everything, 10/10!!!!

[hannah ☆ ୨ৎ˚࿔ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I will go, and I will go afraid.”

Oh my goodness, this is a beautiful, heartwarming, inspiring book. I read a majority of this book sitting outside at a park, breathing in the fresh air, and it was just what my soul needed. ☀️🌸

This book will hit different at different times in life, depending on what you have going on. I’ve mentioned this before but I’m in a serious season of waiting and uncertainty. Some of the poems in this book seemed to speak right to my situation. 🙌🏻

I highly recommend checking this out for yourself for a little slice of comfort and inspiration. 💫

[brookejeanscozyreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Remember, remember. You are More than flesh and bones. You are a soul needing grace and salvation on the narrow journey home!” 💖🌸🌷☀️🌱

This has become one of my favorite books of all time. Absolutely breathtaking and so thankful the Lord brought this book into my life, in a time when I need it the most. 🙂💖

[Noura Khalid (theperksofbeingnoura) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was absolutely beautiful 💖 This was such a beautiful and healing read. Definitely, words I needed to read or rather listen to right now.

Thank you, Libro.Fm and the publishers for the gifted audio review copy!