Book Summary: Daughter of Stars & Nightmares

From the Author’s Introduction:

This is my fifth poetry book and one that is very personal to me, more so than the others because some of the poems that will be featured are old poems from when I was younger and struggling through life. I’ve suffered from depression and anxiety since I was a child. When I was 20 years old, I was diagnosed with a kidney disease and became homeless. By the time I was 22, I had kidney failure and had to start dialysis while I was in a homeless shelter. I’m 42 now and fortunately have had a kidney transplant for over 14 years and my own apartment in the Upper West Side of Manhattan for the past 20 years.

_{via Tara Baja: Daughter of Stars & Nightmares}

Book Review: Daughter of Stars & Nightmares

What I loved most about this poetry collection was the meeting of past and present, or as Tara divides it, now and then.

It is rare that we get to see the evolution of someone’s writing unless they’ve been publishing long-term, but here we get to see as far back as the 1990s, to a younger girl trying to navigate a crazy world with difficult circumstances.

The poetry of now and then are both good, but I could definitely feel a difference between Tara today and Tara of yore, so to speak.

I greatly enjoyed all the poems centering on love and relationships, the trials and pitfalls. Tara brings her voice to each poem and tells the reader a short story of love, loss, and sometimes anger.

Anyone who has experienced these things will find beauty and comfort in her words and relate to her journey.

Pros:

• Quick read
• Worth re-reading
• Good mix of poems