BOOK REVIEW: One Petal at a Time

Joni Caggiano who blogs at https://the-inner-child.com/ has written a sensitive and uplifting book of poetry about childhood abuse.

Like 28 million other Americans, Joni is the survivor of parental alcoholism and all that entails [1][2].  Her book is directed to survivors of any form of familial dysfunction.

Titled One Petal at a Time, the book is illustrated by the acclaimed artist Francisco Bravo Cabrera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbXMBr3Xnic and divided into three parts:  The Beginning, Seedling, and Blooming.  Each part is introduced by a moving essay.

Joni’s poems and essays are autobiographical in nature, addressing the progressive stages of her life.   They explore feelings of abandonment, pain, love, and loss.  The language is beautiful; the imagery alternately haunting, searing, and hopeful.

Here is a sample:

“Sunflower – A New Page

I am a sunflower, golden, proud, and tall
dancing playfully toward the bright sun
no longer living in the land of the small

dots of death at night, bees that can sting
mom sewing me shut to curtain my truth
no longer huddling up a cowardly thing

hiding my food in panties so I could flee
seeking wisdom as stem and flower grow
consoling the wee child who once was me

doorways to who I am, my heart and soul
is my gift to give to those I choose to love
a survivor, my stem, leaf, and flower whole

for God so loved me, his innocent daughter
forgiveness I found, as I flourish with age
my ray florets feel His rain and curing water
life moving splendidly with every new page”

I highly recommend this book which is available on Amazon.

—

[1]  National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Personality Subtypes in Adolescence and Adult Children of Alcoholics:  A Two Part Study” by Jonathan Hinrichs et al, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3143015/.

[2]  Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families, “Laundry List”, https://adultchildren.org/literature/laundry-list/.

FOR MORE OF MY ARTICLES ON POVERTY, POLITICS, AND MATTERS OF CONSCIENCE CHECK OUT MY BLOG A LAWYER’S PRAYERS AT: https://alawyersprayers.com