How Far You Have Come: Musings on Beauty and Courage

by Morgan Harper Nichols

How Far You Have Come is an exquisitely illustrated collection of poetry and essays from bestselling artist and writer Morgan Harper Nichols. In the midst of the hurt and the mundane, the questions and the not yets, you can forget just how far you have come. Morgan weaves together personal reflections with her signature poems, encouraging you to reclaim moments of brokenness, division, and pain and re-envision them as experiences of reconciliation, unity, and hope.

As Morgan reflects on the moments that shaped her, she invites you to:


Awaken your heart and recognize how your own history has made you who you are today


Into a deeper understanding of pressing on and pressing in, of transformation and surrender, of meaning in the losses and wild anticipation for the splendor ahead 


Reclaim moments of brokenness, division, and pain and re-envision them as experiences of reconciliation, unity, and hope


Become who you are in the moment you hold right now


A Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly bestselling author, Morgan has cultivated a loyal online community, over a million Instagram followers, and an in-person following as she shares her unique message around the country. How Far You Have Come is an excellent gift for college and high school graduations, faith celebrations and anniversaries, life transitions, and birthdays or simply a gift for yourself.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Self Help, Memoir, Christian, Essays, Faith

224 pages, Hardcover

First published April 27, 2021

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

[Ettie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a beautiful book. Every page comes alive with gorgeous art and poignant words. It made me cry, it gave me hope. It was exactly what I needed today.

[Stephanie | stephonashelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry

Format: Physical

5🌟 - I loved it!

I’ve followed MHN for YEARS back in the early days of her Instagram poems and art. Her words and art are so stunning and hold so much meaning for me! If you are interested in poetry at all, I beg you to check her out!

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like how reading this book is like being on a road trip itself. The book is split into US states, each of which contains several poems and an essay in which the author reflects upon her life.

The book itself is gorgeous, being full of vivid imagery as well as beautiful illustrations. Talk about a visual feast! It would certainly make the perfect company for when you are on a road trip or in the great outdoors.

However, I wasn't a fan of the writing or the tone (which felt quite preachy at times) even though the content was good. I liked the reminders about slowing down and enjoying your surroundings, but I just somehow couldn't connect with the book and even had a few false starts.

On the aesthetics front, the book deserves 5⭐ but overall it was quite a unmemorable read for me.

[Tbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautiful book of inspirational poems! Highly recommend <3

[Natasha M. Nurse, Esq. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Morgan Harper Nichols so much. However, I wish this book leaned less into the physical literal nature of travel but more so focused on the emotional journey we experience in life 💕

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been a fan of Morgan's for a while now and this book is a beautiful addition to my favourites list. Each page has art unique to the next, the poems each offering both motivational and uplifting to the reader.

I've never disliked a single piece from MHN and I can't say that I found one in this to start today. I wasn't even looking for them. Everything she writes is wonderful and although I may not connect with every single poem, I definitely enjoy them still.

I love picking this up when I need a little pick-me-up and I recommend doing the same. I read the poems in order but only when I felt I needed the words that it offered me and it just made me enjoy it that much more!

[Danielle Simmons-Disbro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y’all need to run and buy this book! It was so well written and the pages were absolutely breathtaking with their watercolor images. There were so many pages that spoke to me and validated my story. I loved that this was about traveling and felt like a journey as I read along. Overall it was just beautiful to look at and to read.

[myutokki ✶꩜ .ᐟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“your heart will heal with time…”

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirerend. Prachtige gedichten die je hart raken, geprint op gekleurde, geïllustreerde achtergronden. Afgewisseld met verhalen over het eigen leven van Morgan Harper Nichols.
Ik ben echt fan van deze vrouw! (Ook te vinden op instagram <3 )

[corinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will not let the pulse of the clock dictate the pulse of my life.

The visceral combination of mesmerizing artwork and gorgeous prose made this book out to be an immediate 5/5 stars for me. The story was so mesmerizingly sequential that I truly felt as if I were travelling along with Nichols throughout her life's journey. I loved how Nichols didn't depict the trips she took as a vocational reprieve, but as an interwoven part of her life that allowed her to learn many life lessons and shift her perspective over time. A lot of the poems in this book come off as affirmational, and I plan on using my favorite quotes from this book as motivation or inspiration on days where I'm feeling low. Coincidentally I was learning about the Romanticism period in school as I was reading this book, and the overlap between this book's lessons and the beliefs of the Romantics surprised me. Many of the poems in this book revolve around reconnecting wih nature and almost acts as a love letter to childhood, nature, and all things beautiful. Overall, I loved this! :)

[Susan Kovach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t typically read poetry but MHN is so talented and her words and art are stunning. This is a book I’ll be glad to have on my bookshelf

[lina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so beautiful! Holding it in your hands is a joy; even the hardcover is so nice. I constantly feel like running my hands over the cover and the pages.

"How Far You Have Come" is a collection of poems, written on beautifully colored/illustrated pages. The book is divided into different chapters, and each stands for a US-American state to which the author links memories, feelings and lessons learned. I loved that the colors used for each chapter cover (e.g. the cover for "TEXAS") are picked up again on the following pages of that respective chapter.

Moreover, in the middle of each chapter there is a several-pages-long text in which the author tells us a story she connects with this state. I really enjoyed these stories, they made the book less abstract and more authentic. I truly appreciated how honest Morgan Harper Nichols was about certain experiences in her life – like when she recollects failures and not being able to connect with peers. Though (naturally) not having experienced exactly the same things she has, I could definitely identify with her, and I found the lessons she chose to take from these experiences quite inspiring.

Somehow I feel like you can tell that she's the daughter of a preacher. I mean this in a good way. I got the impression that from her early years on she was a very reflective child and grew up in a family that actively chooses to exercise and believe in solidarity, kindness, beauty and hope. In that's exactly what I found so inspiring about the book.

I have to admit that I didn't always understand or feel each and every poem. However, this feels like a book you can pick up whenever you want, just open a page and read it again. So that's what I plan to do. Maybe I just need a different time or mindset.

The whole book is so beautiful, the colors, the illustrations, the binding – due to my lack of connecting with some of the poems I would give it either 4 or 4.5 stars, but since I can't give 4.5, it must be 4. It's a very special book (and would also make a great gift).

[Morgan Giesbrecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection with stunning illustrations! It is a bit challenging to read in digital form on a smaller screen though.


A few favourite lines… 💛
.
.
“Make room for rest. Every moment of the journey matters. Even in stillness.”


“Have courage, heavy heart. Find joy in the in-between.”


“The story you shared made one voice feel heard.”

[hannah | bookshelvish · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Few things are as soothing to my soul as reading a poetry book cover to cover. Specifically, Morgan Harper Nichols poetry. This was the perfect balm to the chaos of life at the moment and I’m feeling refreshed and ready for Monday (who am I?????). Highly recommend if you like poetry, or art, or neither of those things but are feeling overwhelmed and frazzled and need to take a freaking minute.

[Analie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Morgan Harper Nichols’ work and have so much respect for this author. Surprisingly, this book did not resonate with me as much, perhaps because it focused on describing landscapes in a memoir-like description of her physical travels through various states. All Along You Were Blooming remains my favorite book by her.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buying the paper book straight away. It's beautifully written and the aesthetics are magical. It reduced my existential anxiety a lot. The journey of coming home, learning to trust the process and having hope was what I needed to start this new year!

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Step into these grassy farmlands,
take cold air in, let your lungs expand.”

A deeply impressive collection of the expectations of “growing up” that we place on ourselves and the difficult reality of what it’s like to mature as a person. The artwork that accompanies almost every piece perfectly captures the spirit of Harper Nichols’ poetry and prose. There are a few poems that, by themselves, are overly simple platitudes. The rhyme schemes of some are unimpressive. But then, almost on cue, a poem or line of prose appears that instantly fills the soul. A few do not connect well to the prose or other poems in this collection. Yet, I find myself returning to this book and reflecting on what it means to feel so lost as you grow up.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 sunrises/sunsets.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way MHN separated this book into a geographic journey in parallel to a family road trip from childhood was masterful. Her illustrations and prose are beautiful, though I felt like All Along You Were Blooming was more polished.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Morgan has become one of my favorite poetic authors this year. I first read her All Along You Were Blooming, then picked up a copy of How Far You Have Come after I loved the other so much.

This volume is beautiful. It is a collection of place-based poetry interspersed with reflective narrative sections, and the whole book is filled with Morgan’s beautiful illustrations. As a native Californian, I especially loved reading the California section, but I also found myself dog-earing pages all throughout the book so I could revisit my favorite poems later on.

Here are a couple of stanzas that stood out to me as I read:

“Invite joy to
meet your sorrow.
Let in hope
for tomorrow.
Bridge the fragments
of who you are,
and learn to see
beauty in your scars.”

“You will desire to go
beyond the limits
to get there faster.
But moving at a careful pace
requires courage in this race,
as if to say
time does not define me,
I do not answer to the tick of the clock
and will not give in to its alluring tongue.
In my own speed,
with my own limits,
I am still becoming.”

“Come back down
to the beat of your heart.
Come back to the joy of color.
Come back home to believing
hope still runs in your veins.
You’re finding your way
in the wind,
but you can always come
back to Light again.”

Highly recommend, and while you’re at it, pick up All Along You Were Blooming too. I liked that one even better, to the point that I wanted to buy an extra two copies so I could turn the pages into a collection of framed art prints for my walls. I still might do just that! =)

[Giulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a visually stunning poetry book.
The author is amazingly skilled and her art enriches her words and enchants me.

How Far You Have Come was beautiful and truly touched me at times, but I found the overall undertones (i.e. nature and its beauties) to be ever so slightly cliché.
Nonetheless, reading this collection was a pleasure and I will keep my eyes peeled for her next work.

Favourite Poems:
Without knowing
What comes next,
You are still
Flying west.
And even the smallest steps
Are marked by
courage
And grace

-----------------------------

I do not know why I am still here
Or why I say anything at all.
In a word spinning wildly with questions
Water circling in a thousand directions,
My tired heart still beats
While I search for meaning,
And I feel like an imposter
On some hero’s journey.
I will trust that I matter.
I am here,
I live,
I breathe,
and I speak with curiosity.
Existence is a mystery,
But I will live my life
With intention.

-----------------------------

Ochre clouds
Fill the sky.
The sun is low,
My hopes
Are high.
I do not
Always stop
And notice the light,
But I will
continue
To try.

[Avolyn Fisher · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the minority here, and truly not every book is for everyone. The illustrations and artwork bumped it up from a 1 star for me. But the poetry was just underwhelming. I'm glad many have found it to be a refuge of positive healing affirmation, but for me it was clunky.

Her poem structure would half rhyme and usually contain some cliché that the rest of the poem seemed to branch out from. For that reason it just didn't feel super original. Maybe I've been reading too much Pessoa and the bar is just too high now. But this book is clearly a hit among mainstream readers so don't mind me.

A bold, courageous publish on behalf of the author, nonetheless.

[Mitchell Freitas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think some of the most beautiful poetry I’ve ever read has always come from a place of full surrender and vulnerability from the author. You can almost feel the pain or joy from the poet’s words. Although I saw glimpses of this in Nichols’ work, especially in the section about Dallas, most of it fell flat for me. Poetry written for the sake of looking pretty is seldom good poetry that connects with one’s soul. This book had its moments but the majority of it felt like superficial deepness, the kind that you would hear from the pulpits of mega churches — words crafted to make you feel good, but without much substance beneath it.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is GORGEOUS. Honestly, the aesthetic deserves a 5-star rating in itself.

I enjoyed how the book itself felt like a road trip, with each state visited having the author reflect on a moment in her life that corresponded with that state. The combination of poems and essays was nice.

Overall, I enjoyed it... just not as much as I thought I would. Some parts lagged. I could only read one [state] section at a time, otherwise my focus was gone. I guess I just had a hard time really connecting with this book, despite enjoying certain excerpts. Might be a case of wrong timing for me!

Would still recommend giving this book a chance though :-)

[aqilahreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

rounding this up to 3/5. have always admire MHN's art quotes and this is no doubt, a familiar sight on the shelves which made me pick it up immediately.

however, not too sure why but felt that i wasnt able to connect as much ((maybe because it was really similar to her posts on ig)) and kinda expect what i was going to read through the pages. the art is stunning as always, still something that MHN fans can look forward to and check it out.

just wished it has a different take - perhaps a new collection that wasnt being shared before or touch on topics that were more focused.

[Jonathan Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I was where I was meant to be, even when I thought I should be somewhere else by then."

4/7

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited about this one, but sadly it didn't seem to go very far. The language/writing was not out of the ordinary and the topics didn't speak to me.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love and am so grateful for what Morgan Harper Nichols is putting out into the world. The art and poetry are so affirming and growth-oriented. This book would make a great gift.

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetic, beautiful, poignant. This touched my soul in all the right places without even trying. Love love love.

[Esther Hallel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty self-lovey, if you're cool with that.

As a technical analysis, Morgan Harper Nichols' poems aren't intentionally metrical, she writes in free verse. I really enjoyed her use of alliteration. I think she used assonance but kinda hard for me to place. Rhymes are employed not strictly but often, and often in an expected way. I found each of her poems to bounce from multiple related ideas instead of really narrowing into one single thought. Nichols descriptions of color and sight are vivid, but these poems are more abstract in general and use emotional language in contrast to being sensorally grounded in a narrative.

These are not necessarily good or bad in my opinion, these are just things I noticed. I'm sure there is a lot more going on in her writing but I didn't detect it as its all pretty new to me :-)

Reading poetry can be hard on the eyes sometimes with its small type. In contrast, Nichols writing is really immersive, especially visually so. The illustrations are colorful and imaginative throughout, and they went well with the writing. It gave each poems' its own unique feeling so that you could differentiate them in your mind even when some phrases or ideas were repetitive. It made each poem distinct and special.

The book is divided into sections associated with various states in the U.S, different places that hold different memories for Nichols. There are breaks here within the poetry in which she describes some of those experiences and their significance. I really enjoyed her writing style here and found them to be some of the most breath taking writing in the entire book. I liked it a lot :,)

While I ironically found her poetic style to be my least favorite thing about this book, her poems are unique and unarguably beautiful, the paintings and stories contributing overall as well. Good-- 4 stars.


"Invite joy to meet your sorrow.
Let in hope for tomorrow.
Bridge the fragments of who you are,
And learn to see beauty in your scars.

Imagine the table designed to seat
The family you have known and long to meet.
Invite the stranger,
And learn his story, too.
Be the bridge to all
These persons passing through.

Because in love, there will be room
For each and every one of us.
And in love there is
Room for all of you."

pg. 20

Changed off of uppercase to compensate for lack of her original font, painting, and spacing I cannot replicate haha

[Debi Ang · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a random day, I decided to visit my local library and found this book. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of Morgan Harper Nichols before…but I’m extremely glad I found this book. Motivational words, are not alone between these pages. There is also art with every turn. I really loved how encouraging this book was. I am blessed to always find the stories I need to read most, at the right time. It felt as if the author was speaking to parts of me I keep hidden from the rest of the world. I also appreciated hearing her own story written so eloquently; though it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Lastly I will say, if you’re feeling alone or unmotivated…please pick this up.

Quote: what a gift it was to be inconvenienced. When we are, we always have the choice to look, listen, and delight in the beauty that is before us.