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don't need me,: Another Haiku Collection About Mental Illness
this is all too much
i can't handle existing
don't need me today
Finding the strength to not only go on through mental illness but also grow, change, and come out a better person is not easy. It’s a lifelong battle. Sometimes you just need to not be needed while you work on yourself. Sometimes you just need a little space and quiet. And sometimes you need poems to show you you’re not alone in this struggle.
This book is a companion to the first mental health haiku collection from Jamie Winters, i’m fine. The poems in this collection take an even deeper look at some of the concepts from the first collection, exploring even more on the subject of mental health. However, you don’t need to read the first collection to understand the poems in this book.
The brevity of haiku makes it possible to digest hard subjects like trauma, depression, and anxiety in small, bite-size portions. The 144 haiku in this collection can easily be read one by one over an extended period, or all at once. This collection was made to bring together those affected by mental illness, whether you’re someone trying to understand a loved one’s experience or someone surviving mental illness yourself. You are not alone.
i can't handle existing
don't need me today
Finding the strength to not only go on through mental illness but also grow, change, and come out a better person is not easy. It’s a lifelong battle. Sometimes you just need to not be needed while you work on yourself. Sometimes you just need a little space and quiet. And sometimes you need poems to show you you’re not alone in this struggle.
This book is a companion to the first mental health haiku collection from Jamie Winters, i’m fine. The poems in this collection take an even deeper look at some of the concepts from the first collection, exploring even more on the subject of mental health. However, you don’t need to read the first collection to understand the poems in this book.
The brevity of haiku makes it possible to digest hard subjects like trauma, depression, and anxiety in small, bite-size portions. The 144 haiku in this collection can easily be read one by one over an extended period, or all at once. This collection was made to bring together those affected by mental illness, whether you’re someone trying to understand a loved one’s experience or someone surviving mental illness yourself. You are not alone.
165 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 9, 2020
3 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Jamie Winters
10 books12 followersJamie Winters is a cat. You would think a cat can’t be an author, but that’s where you would be wrong.
Jamie first adopted his pet human when he was just growing out of kittenhood. He wanted somewhere to live that was warmer and more comfortable than the streets, so when a human offered, Jamie leapt at the chance. Because of his white fur, his human decided to name him “Winter.” Jamie decided to tolerate this in the sake of keeping the peace.
Over time, Jamie grew more attached to his human. He eventually realized two things. One, he actually loved his human rather than simply tolerating the creature. And two, his human was an idiot. After all, his human didn’t even know how to hunt propery, let alone bestow a name on a cat.
So Jamie decided there was only one course of action. With his extraordinary intelligence, he could take care of his human. He decided to become an author. It was a job that didn’t require him making many public appearances, and only minor tumb dexterity, making it ideal. Plus it allowed him to stay at home and keep his human from getting into too much mischief. He took the human’s loving (though misguided) attempt at a name and turned it into something much more dignified: Jamie Winters.
Much like his human, Jamie found writing to be more than just a means to an end, and he eventually fell in love with the craft. Now he spends much of his time writing and sharing his work with the world.
When Jamie isn’t involved in his literary pursuits, you may find him fetching dinner for his human, catching a warm sunbeam, or engaging in a relaxing night of belly rubs. Which are all completely for the human’s benefit. Of course.
Jamie first adopted his pet human when he was just growing out of kittenhood. He wanted somewhere to live that was warmer and more comfortable than the streets, so when a human offered, Jamie leapt at the chance. Because of his white fur, his human decided to name him “Winter.” Jamie decided to tolerate this in the sake of keeping the peace.
Over time, Jamie grew more attached to his human. He eventually realized two things. One, he actually loved his human rather than simply tolerating the creature. And two, his human was an idiot. After all, his human didn’t even know how to hunt propery, let alone bestow a name on a cat.
So Jamie decided there was only one course of action. With his extraordinary intelligence, he could take care of his human. He decided to become an author. It was a job that didn’t require him making many public appearances, and only minor tumb dexterity, making it ideal. Plus it allowed him to stay at home and keep his human from getting into too much mischief. He took the human’s loving (though misguided) attempt at a name and turned it into something much more dignified: Jamie Winters.
Much like his human, Jamie found writing to be more than just a means to an end, and he eventually fell in love with the craft. Now he spends much of his time writing and sharing his work with the world.
When Jamie isn’t involved in his literary pursuits, you may find him fetching dinner for his human, catching a warm sunbeam, or engaging in a relaxing night of belly rubs. Which are all completely for the human’s benefit. Of course.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 26, 2020
I don’t read a whole lot of poetry, but Jamie Winters has delivered another poetry book — a collection of haikus, just like the other work of theirs that I’ve read — that I absolutely adore.
As with “i’m fine,” this collection may not be for the most lighthearted reader. Everybody deals with mental illness differently so it is truly up to you whether or not this sounds like something you could read. But, as a reader with anxiety and PTSD, I loved every single poem. Could I personally relate to every single one? No. But Jamie Winters writes haiku in a way that is truly powerful, despite the seemingly “simplistic” poetry style.
It says itself in the summary: “While the form itself is simple, haiku has been used to express complex subjects for generations. Three lines can give a surprisingly complex look at a single moment that might have passed by without thought otherwise.” And the author has definitely lived up to that promise of complexity.
Honestly, Jamie Winters writes poetry in a way that is so unique, and I love it. It takes a lot of talent for there to be so much emotion in the 5-7-5 brevity style that makes up the haiku, and I think these poems are packed with some of the rawest emotion I’ve read in literature. And, not only that, but the collection is divided into “chapters,” and every haiku in a “chapter” shares a common theme under the overall theme of mental illness itself. That truly takes talent, and Jamie Winters has it.
The last group of poems was my favorite. Mental illness can seem dark, but there is always light, and that very last group delivers the most hopeful, light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel poems. There’s always hope, and it’s very important to remember that.
Overall, if you think you can handle it, I definitely recommend this collection, and the first haiku collection too.
It was beautiful.
As with “i’m fine,” this collection may not be for the most lighthearted reader. Everybody deals with mental illness differently so it is truly up to you whether or not this sounds like something you could read. But, as a reader with anxiety and PTSD, I loved every single poem. Could I personally relate to every single one? No. But Jamie Winters writes haiku in a way that is truly powerful, despite the seemingly “simplistic” poetry style.
It says itself in the summary: “While the form itself is simple, haiku has been used to express complex subjects for generations. Three lines can give a surprisingly complex look at a single moment that might have passed by without thought otherwise.” And the author has definitely lived up to that promise of complexity.
Honestly, Jamie Winters writes poetry in a way that is so unique, and I love it. It takes a lot of talent for there to be so much emotion in the 5-7-5 brevity style that makes up the haiku, and I think these poems are packed with some of the rawest emotion I’ve read in literature. And, not only that, but the collection is divided into “chapters,” and every haiku in a “chapter” shares a common theme under the overall theme of mental illness itself. That truly takes talent, and Jamie Winters has it.
The last group of poems was my favorite. Mental illness can seem dark, but there is always light, and that very last group delivers the most hopeful, light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel poems. There’s always hope, and it’s very important to remember that.
Overall, if you think you can handle it, I definitely recommend this collection, and the first haiku collection too.
It was beautiful.
Displaying 1 of 1 review