The Way Back Home

by Courtney Peppernell

When a dark storm settled upon the earth, you lost many things—your hope, your strength, yourself. One day, in the middle of the darkness, you meet a spirit, washed from the ocean onto the shore. The spirit hands you a key.
 
It is time to find the way back home.
Returning with her newest poetry book, beloved poet Courtney Peppernell combines storytelling, poetry, and prose in a uniquely inspirational way. Filled with heartfelt anecdotes and insightful messages, The Way Back Home is a tribute to rebuilding our lives after loss. Divided into sections that draw on themes of courage, resilience, purpose, and hope, the collection has Peppernell once again walking us through a redemptive journey of the heart, mind, and soul.
 
Discover what it means to continue forward in life, despite all the challenges we face, to find the way back home.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Adult, Self Help, Contemporary, Mental Health, LGBT

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 26, 2025

About the author

Courtney Peppernell is an acclaimed best-selling author from Australia, celebrated for her inspirational poetry collections, including the beloved Pillow Thoughts series, Watering the Soul, I Hope You Stay, Time Will Tell and more. With over two million sales worldwide, she continues to lead the forefront of today’s poetry genre. Courtney spends her days writing and working on many projects with her beloved dogs and chickens in tow. She hopes to continue exploring expression and the art of healing through stories, novels and poetry for years to come. Stay tuned for the latest releases from Courtney and her team!

Reviews

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He said to me with ease, “The most important
lesson from life, the thing to remember each day,
is to stop and see yourself
in all the people who pass your way.

Find the curve of your smile in the woman
who makes your coffee as a new day breaks
or your sense of adventure in the man
out there fly-fishing by the lake.
Find your warmth in the family that visits
the beach all together and the couple
that goes by them, wholeheartedly in love, forever.

For if you are paying attention, you’ll find
we aren’t all that different at our core,
and if you see yourself in others,
perhaps you’ll learn to love them
a little more than before.”

This poetry anthology was written with the panic and claustrophobia, the grief and the uncertainty, that the recent pandemic brought to all our lives. It is very personal, focusing on Peppernell's own losses and mental health struggles, but with themes that are universally experienced. I found many a beautiful passage to underline and much hope delivered after the very bleak first portion.

"For all the apologies you have given
for things that didn’t need an apology,
for all the nights you have looked in the
mirror and struggled with your body,
for all the moments you have broken and
cried with your whole aching heart,
for all the reasons you believe you don’t
deserve another day and chance to start—
know that I have been looking for you,
hoping you are loved, wanting you to thrive,
for when you are believed in, you fly,
and when you are loved, you survive."

[angelpompom · Rating 3 out of 5]

And then one day
someone walks into your life,
a total stranger, and they
become so important to you.

And while you've known them
such a short time,
you feel you have loved
them for a lifetime.

3.5 stars💗

[Izabela Górska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polecam tą książkę absolutnie wszystkim. Graficznie jest ultra urocza, a wnętrze złamało mi serce. Z początku planowałam dać jej maksymalną ocenę, ale im dalej w las tym mnie było smutku a więcej nadziei i miłości, a ja osobiście jestem po ciemnej stronie mocy haha

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The way back Home is another outstandingly beautiful collection of poems by one of my favourite poets Courtney Peppernell. If the cover doesn't catch your attention to the beauty in this book the first section will. Courtney's poems always resonate deep within me and I often find myself nodding to what she had written as I can relate to so much of her writings on so many levels. The illustrations are just as gorgeous at the cover and I hope to buy all her books in physical form one day to read over and over again. If you love poetry, I definitely recommend her!

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

The Way Back Home by Courtney Peppernell is a collection of poems surrounding heartbreak and life during the pandemic. She also talks about lgbtq issues, so I was immediately drawn to read this book.
I was utterly disappointed. Each poem seemed like a sad attempt of an uplifting Facebook post that a freshman in high school (no offense to high schoolers, but it was a lot like what I wrote for classes) would write to share positivity. The poems’ meanings were spoon fed to me, and they left me with no room for interpretation.
I wanted to dnf it, but I powered through it for this review.
Although this collection of poems was horribly underwhelming, I did enjoy about four of them. The section over love was more bearable than the rest because I am extremely fond of hearing other people gush about a significant other.
Overall, this collection is not worth reading unless you enjoy simple poetry with little backbone.
1/5 stars

[Elizabeth Mellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC of this!

I listened to some of the author’s other collections earlier this month, so I was excited to see this one. I’m unsure if it was the fact that I read it myself, instead of hearing how she intended it to be read, or if this collection was wildly different, but I didn’t enjoy it near as much, unfortunately. It read a little self-help-y, which is totally fine, with a focus on getting through the pandemic and heartbreak. I loved the art work though, I kinda wish there had been more! I’d be interested to hear this one and see if that would change my feelings, because I don’t read a ton of poetry and maybe I’m just not good at it.

[kal ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enjoyed it so much 🥹🫶

[Sara Jovanovic · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the biggest problem with this collection were my inappropriate expectations. While I wanted to read something like The Space Between Us, my favourite Courtney's work to date, this reminded me more of I Hope You Stay and Watering The Soul, both of which I didn't enjoy that much. It's written in extremely similar writing style, and now it's becoming quite obvious that it just doesn't work for me.

I feel really indifferent about most of the stuff I read, and I even found myself skimming some parts. The mostly prose format was also tiring, because I prefer classic poetry compared to this writing style. However, I will still be checking out Courtney's new releases, as well as some backlist titles I missed. But overall, I could have done without this one.

Thanks to the Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Apparently I lied in my last review, the Christmas Tree Farm is not my last read of 2024. I'm glad I finished this book today, as this is a wonderful book to end 2024 with. Especially since one of the last poems was about New Year.

I liked the beginning of the book, but it couldn't compete with watering the soul. However, the last 1/3rd of the book was of the same calibre. I loved so many poems a lot! I still love watering the soul more, but this one is a close second.

[Wyrm · Rating 1 out of 5]

I need to stop judging books by their covers; it rarely works out for me. What a cover though, right? Unfortunately, the poetry did not live up to the cover for me.

The book itself focuses on healing following the pandemic, grief, and heartbreak; however, the ideas in this book weren't novel, and could be found on Twitter back in 2020. There were definitely some good lines in this book and a couple poems I enjoyed, but the collection as a whole felt clichéd.

Unfortunately, this felt like a self-help poetry book that can be easily swallowed by the masses without any real substance to it. I struggled to get through it and it really was just not my cup of tea.

[ally · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS LITERALLY THE CUTEST BOOK EVER

the drawings are adorable
the message is so cute
if you need a pick me up, sweet, and quick read, READ THIS
the way it addresses mental health (and finding courage, support, strength, grace, etc) in relation to building a house is the cutest
ahhh

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been reading Courtney Peppernell for years (this is my 8th book) but her latest collection is sadly not my favourite. It consists of both essays and poetry, with themes revolving largely on healing and rebuilding. The author also discusses the pandemic in a 'all doom and gloom' manner.

I felt mostly apathetic throughout book. A lot of the content was very repetitive and I wasn't a fan of the self-help, life coach tone. There were a few stories that reminded me of fables and parables, except that they completely missed the mark for me too.

A very dry read that I finished for the sake of my Netgalley ratio.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

[Drea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing like cute poetry to make you cry on a Tuesday afternoon

[Shubham Roy Choudhury · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each page holds a little magic—gentle, tender, and deeply comforting. What I love is its freedom; you can open it at any page and still feel its wonder.

[mak ⊹₊⋆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹

The Way Back Home by Courtney Peppernell Review

I started this book a few months ago, sometime in February I believe; I only made it to page 85 till I took a break. I started reading it again from page 85 last week! I remember thinking the poetry was excellent in Feb, but to be fair it was my first poetry book ever. These poems were all I knew at the time. So, their not bad but I'm not super knowledgeable in this genre!

Pages 1-85 actually have so many annotations, but as the book goes on you can see them dwindle out. I'm not saying the book is bad after the first few sections, but I guess the poetry became a bit less interesting (note, it is still very good but apparently I didn't want to annotate it?) and less relatable (obviously me and the author aren't super similar, but the first half felt relatable enough to make marks about it).

Now you may be thinking, "Well, maybe you were just too tired for annotating?". I take annotating very serious. I know I have to be in the mood for it. When I decide to annotate a book, I need lots of annotations and for it to be very neat. This is why I usually only annotate books I've read before or poetry.

I found many of the poems very enticing and beautiful. Peppernell's metaphor's were also so amazing! The poetry was easy to read, like you don't have to pick this up and contemplate every poem for two minutes to understand it.

I thought some of the poems just sounded like complete chessy, cliche, bullsh*t though. But also, at the same time, some of them were sobeautiful. Which is why I'm giving this book... 3.5 stars! Mixed feelings to be honest, but it was my first poetry book so y'know, sort of sentimental as well? Sorry this review is all over the place.

⨯ . ⁺ ✦ ⊹ ꙳ ⁺ ‧ ⨯. ⁺ ✦ ⊹ . * ꙳ ✦ ⊹

[Bea (beansbookshelves) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley.

Although some of her other books resonate deeper within me, this one was equally beautifully written. I might've not fallen in love with this book, but I was able to appreciate most of the poems. The illustrations are wonderful as always. I had high expectations for this book, but it did disappoint me a little. I think no other book will grab my attention as much as Pillow Thoughts did.

[fraenzi.wtr · Rating 3 out of 5]

irgendwie bin ich mit dem buch nicht so warm geworden 🤷🏼‍♀️. der aufbau war sehr schön gestaltet und die illustrationen auch, aber ich hatte bis zum ende hin das gefühl, die texte wären an bestimmte personen gerichtet und nicht an den leser, als würde etwas fehlen 😅.
nichts desto trotz konnte ich ein paar gute ratschläge und denkanstöße mitnehmen :)
—> 3 ✨

[Victoria]

When I saw this in the library, the adorable/gorgeous cover quickly caught my attention and similar artistic pieces throughout the book were lovely as well. I think this book was an interesting composition of storytelling, poetry, and prose, which I haven't encountered before (but I am quite new to reading poetry books lol). I didn't love it (sometimes it just came off as self-helpy which I'm realizing is really not my thing in books lol), but there were some good parts throughout still.

[atlas christenson]

lots of good poems but not as good as pillow thoughts.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

First time in a while I’ve read a book in one sitting. I truly enjoyed this book and it’s just what I needed. Very relatable. I was writing down some of my favorite lines in my book journal and soon realized I need to just tab the book so I did. As with any poetry book some parts are better than others however maybe it’s more of some parts are more relatable than others. Either way I enjoyed this book.

[Scout the · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Depth Video Review on Youtube:

"📚 Reading Outside my Comfort Zone || Reading and Writing Poetry 🖋️"

[Gabriel Noel · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC given by NetGalley & Edelwiess+ for Honest Review

Courtney Peppernell's newest collection is mostly prose and personal/confessional stories about love, mental health, growth, and finding your way back to the place you call home.

This collection fell flat for me. I am reminded of the way I felt about Amanda Lovelace's new work as well. Early Peppernell's poetry and prose was lush, enticing, and enjoyable. This collection felt stale, overdone, and repetitive. Now, I will not rule out the fact that maybe I have outgrown this author...but when I was thumbing through some of her pervious work I became envious that I'm not getting to read that for the first time! I still enjoy her earlier books!

I'm all for breaking the mold when it comes to traditional prose/poetry, but the lack of titles/segues left me feeling lost and frustrated. It flowed well but I felt like I didn't have any sort of natural breaks and rests.

The illustrations are cute and charming and bring the collection some of the life it is lacking.

[Hawraa Khudier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this type of genre was new to me. The author found a fascinating way to mix poetry and prose. I was truly invested in it and enjoyed many quotations. She found a unique way of expressing feelings of loss, love, desperation, and self-discovery. Many quotations stayed in my mind, and I want to share some here:
• So, into the world I ventured, to find and collect all the things that would
surely make a home. Like courage for its foundation, despite how heavy fear
seems, and support, of course, to uphold the beams. Like strength to steady
the floors and grace to restore the walls. Like resilience to open the windows
and release all burdens.

• sometimes even
a tiny seedling still has the courage to grow.

• But the uncertainty can lead
you down beautiful paths and through
places you never dreamed of venturing.

• “Your courage to wear
your heart on your sleeve
is the most beautiful
thing about you.”

• People always say that you gain strength from your first heartbreak. I think
this is true, I do. But I also think you gain more strength from every
heartbreak you experience after the first

• But Poetry just reached out a hand, took mine in theirs, and said, “I am
really just a feeling that has found a way to speak, so if you cannot find me
now and again, just remember I exist in your heart and breathe through your pen.”

Overall, The Way Back Home was a touching and inspiring book.

[Manja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved the format of this short story/poetry collection. The way the different elements were organized and categorised, with the super cute illustrations throughout was really lovely. I feel like the author put a lot of effort in them.
Although I actually quite liked some lines and quotes, most of which were really personal to Peppernell herself, I found that overall this collection didn't touch me the way I wanted it to. In some ways it felt a little surface level to me personally, especially since it's about themes we've probably all experienced during the pandemic times and thus were topics the author could've gone more "in depth" with. I think it has to do with the writing style, or maybe it's just to do with the fact that I'm a reader who's very inexperienced when it comes to prose and poetry (collections).


A big, big thank you to Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

[Isabelle Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not gonna lie. I was fully invested in this author's work, solely for the beautiful covers on her poetry collections. I picked this one first because I thought it might have some healing words. We all continue to go through trials, even if nobody knows, and yet we have to find the way back home. Although some of the sections didn't speak to me, I did find a good number of pages that I dog eared for future reference.

"No matter how many times you walk the same road, at the very beginning to the very end, you always become someone new." (220)

[wordinspirationx · Rating 5 out of 5]

die Bücher von Courtney Peppernell fühle sich immer wieder an, wie nach Hause kommen. Ihre Worte wie eine liebevolle Umarmung. Wie eine Person, die nur das beste für dich möchte. Und jedes Mal wie ein kleines Stückchen Heilung.

Dieser Poetryband gibt noch tiefere Eindrücke in die Gedankenwelt der Autorin und mir hat die Abwechslung zwischen langen und kurzen Texten sehr gut gefallen. Ich habe es wieder mit meinem ganzen Herzen geliebt.

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
I think I've read pretty much every poetry collection by Courtney Peppernell at this point. And this one was a bit of a miss. It was beautifully written but didn't quite evoke emotions out of me. The best part for me was called "Find love", that was gorgeous. But for the rest of the poems, they didn't hit me emotionally unfortunately.
P.s the artwork was great, as usual.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachel Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not the biggest fan of poetry, but this book stood out to me during a recent bookstore visit. The concepts of grief and loss were why I decided to purchase and read this as these are things I’m learning to cope with currently. I found the passages to be comforting and beneficial in feeling less alone in my grief. There were a plentiful amount of excerpts on hope and resilience which I found uplifting. Somewhat by the end it started to ramble and become repetitive, but I have to be thankful for what the beginning passages gave me.

[Adèle . • ✧ . · Rating 3 out of 5]

i’m going to rate this book an ‘average’ of three stars because, of course, some passages spoke more to me than others. while it did not provide any new, groundbreaking revelations, overall, it was still nice to be reminded of some of the messages included in here (as mentioned in the last pages).

also, the illustrations were so cute! my favorite was the one for ‘find faith’

[Jay Le · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Way Back Home is a collection of poems relating to the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasizes themes of loss, grace, friendship, and more. Peppernell executes this theme well, but I found the book to be an average read. Nothing really stood out to me for better or for worse (other than its simplicity and mundaneness). A good read, but nothing extraordinary.