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The Secrets I Keep
The Secrets I Keep is a poetry collection about mental illness, as well as child abuse and the lingering effects it has. Through it, Alex Casso bares their soul and proves that, despite everything, they are a force to be reckoned with.
- GenresPoetry
26 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 23, 2017
254 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 4, 2017
This was absolutely amazing. Alex is such an incredibly talented person, I'm blown away.
June 8, 2017
I had been following this person on twitter for maybe over a month when they tweeted about their poetry collection being available on amazon. Guess what I do when a really nice person I appreciate on social media talks about their book? Especially when it’s quite cheap? Yes, I buy the book!
I knew I wasn’t in for a long read, this poetry collection contains 24 poems. I might have taken me around fifteen minute to read.
The collection deals with the trauma Alex Casso has to live with, but also their relation to words, poetry, survival, hope.
The themes addressed here are very difficult to read about, mostly the lasting effect of the trauma from child abuse.
It was moving beyond anything I can articulate, because you know this is something someone experienced and is dealing with at the same moment you are reading this. One minute of reading and I already had a lump in my throat, wanting to offer comfort to the author and at the same time being highly awed by their courage to offer their words and their experience in this way.
While being a raw poetry collection, hope still transpires through some peoms. This is a reading experience from which you do not leave the same as when you started reading, a collection where most poems punch you in the heart, with powerful words and images. Heartbreaking and empowering are words that instantly came to mind when I finished reading.
you tried to claim my fire
saying my accomplishments were yours
no, mother.
my accomplishments were in spite of you
trying to bring me down.
– i will rise from the flames
I can only give this collection 5/5 and wish all the best to Alex Casso, hoping we’ll get to read more poetry collection from them in the future.
(Originally posted on my blog.)
I knew I wasn’t in for a long read, this poetry collection contains 24 poems. I might have taken me around fifteen minute to read.
The collection deals with the trauma Alex Casso has to live with, but also their relation to words, poetry, survival, hope.
The themes addressed here are very difficult to read about, mostly the lasting effect of the trauma from child abuse.
It was moving beyond anything I can articulate, because you know this is something someone experienced and is dealing with at the same moment you are reading this. One minute of reading and I already had a lump in my throat, wanting to offer comfort to the author and at the same time being highly awed by their courage to offer their words and their experience in this way.
While being a raw poetry collection, hope still transpires through some peoms. This is a reading experience from which you do not leave the same as when you started reading, a collection where most poems punch you in the heart, with powerful words and images. Heartbreaking and empowering are words that instantly came to mind when I finished reading.
you tried to claim my fire
saying my accomplishments were yours
no, mother.
my accomplishments were in spite of you
trying to bring me down.
– i will rise from the flames
I can only give this collection 5/5 and wish all the best to Alex Casso, hoping we’ll get to read more poetry collection from them in the future.
(Originally posted on my blog.)
May 28, 2017
"you tried to claim my fire
saying my accomplishments were yours
no, mother.
my accomplishments were in spite of you
trying to bring me down.
- i will rise from the flames"
* * *
Short but incredibly powerful: this description applies both to the book itself, and every poem within it. They are raw, gut-punching, stark-in-minimalism catharses. Casso's economy of language allows complex, deep-buried emotion to rise to the surface and break through like sharpened spikes. If you empathize or share a history of abuse, every page can feel like a stab - or a relief, a breath of air after long stagnation.
Highly recommended.
saying my accomplishments were yours
no, mother.
my accomplishments were in spite of you
trying to bring me down.
- i will rise from the flames"
* * *
Short but incredibly powerful: this description applies both to the book itself, and every poem within it. They are raw, gut-punching, stark-in-minimalism catharses. Casso's economy of language allows complex, deep-buried emotion to rise to the surface and break through like sharpened spikes. If you empathize or share a history of abuse, every page can feel like a stab - or a relief, a breath of air after long stagnation.
Highly recommended.
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November 23, 2019This wasn't as short of a read as I expected because some of these poems really made me stop and think. Alex's words are so powerful in this book and so important to people who hurt but need to know they are not alone.
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May 25, 2017
quick and powerful read. personal yet relatable to everyone. highly recommend!
June 1, 2017
You can find more reviews on my blog Olivia Chanel's Galaxy of Books. Thank you so much, Alex Casso, for my copy of The Secrets I Keep. I really appreciate you sending it to me!
The Secrets I Keep is a beautiful poetry collection with 24 poems about abuse and mental illness. This collection is a fast read with poems that will really capture your attention. It’s a collection that’s heart touching and empowering. The poetry collection tells a story about surviving abuse and the strength that exists within the survive. The style of the poems in The Secrets I Keep is one I love and my two favorite poems from the collection are the following.
if my words bring joy to others
then maybe
one day
my words will bring joy to me too
- doubt
and
words catch in my throat
coated by the poison you left behind
but my voice is strong
i am powerful
and one day
i will roar
- im not ready yet and that’s okay
I recommend this collection if you want to read a poetry collection that is easy to read, deals with a serious topic that’s also very important. The Secrets I Keep is a raw collection that will grab you and hold you tight, take you through a journey and end on a note that is fresh and hopeful.
The Secrets I Keep is a beautiful poetry collection with 24 poems about abuse and mental illness. This collection is a fast read with poems that will really capture your attention. It’s a collection that’s heart touching and empowering. The poetry collection tells a story about surviving abuse and the strength that exists within the survive. The style of the poems in The Secrets I Keep is one I love and my two favorite poems from the collection are the following.
if my words bring joy to others
then maybe
one day
my words will bring joy to me too
- doubt
and
words catch in my throat
coated by the poison you left behind
but my voice is strong
i am powerful
and one day
i will roar
- im not ready yet and that’s okay
I recommend this collection if you want to read a poetry collection that is easy to read, deals with a serious topic that’s also very important. The Secrets I Keep is a raw collection that will grab you and hold you tight, take you through a journey and end on a note that is fresh and hopeful.
January 4, 2018
Powerful
This is a hard read. It is clear how the abuse permeates the poet's life and her family around her. The future seems bleak. The poetry is blunt and hard hitting and simple in form. It's a short read but keep in mind I feel this book could be triggering for anyone suffering from depression or trauma!
This is a hard read. It is clear how the abuse permeates the poet's life and her family around her. The future seems bleak. The poetry is blunt and hard hitting and simple in form. It's a short read but keep in mind I feel this book could be triggering for anyone suffering from depression or trauma!
May 28, 2017
Review to come
May 25, 2017
Beautiful and heartbreaking, this short poetry collection is one I know I'll return to many times in the future.
November 28, 2017
Short but filled with poems of strength and recovery from abuse.
November 28, 2017
I downloaded this book after being intrigued by the description. As someone who was mentally abused by my mother, I can relate to so much of this book. Alex, if you read this, thank you for sharing your story. I have been so back and forth as to whether I should have written about my experience with my mother in my poetry collection, but reading this has helped me to realize I am not alone. I highly recommend this book.
July 5, 2018
Short but powerful.
These poems feel like being punched in the stomach but I get it. It's a good book. It feels authentic in a way a lot of poetry doesn't.
These poems feel like being punched in the stomach but I get it. It's a good book. It feels authentic in a way a lot of poetry doesn't.
June 20, 2017
I loved this short collection and would read more, read my full review at my blog http://www.ljhamlin.com/review-of-ale...
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews