Bone & Stars: A Constellation of Poems of Healing and Recovery from Narcissistic Abuse
is a constellation of poems that forms the shape of one woman's transformation from suffering emotional abuse and being rendered silent to finding liberation and reclaiming her voice. Each of these poems reveals a visceral determination to truly live, not just as the walking dead of someone numb with denial, but as someone who is their whole and defiantly shining self. Together, this composition of poems takes the reader through the poet's journey of escaping an abusive marriage, reconciling what it means to endure an abuse that does not leave marks, healing the damage she endured, and recovering her lost voice to rise like a phoenix, fierce and unapologetic. This poetry collection is for those who have endured, are enduring, or wonder whether they are experiencing an emotionally abusive relationship, as we do not always recognize what we are experiencing when there is no blood to show us, so we need words to serve as that mirror instead. This book is a confirmation that all kinds of abuse cuts, wounds, and kills the spirit, as it is intended to; that enduring it is not our fault; and that we can liberate and recover ourselves and our voices to live as our true selves, shining and whole, as the generative and creative Sun of our own world, rather than as a moon that can only revolve around and reflect light for others.