Title: Edstudioz Edtertainment – Remember Me
Subtitle: Poems, Lyrics, Letters & Messages
Author: Penny N. Kuria-Pettigrew
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 9781524624033
Pages: 218
Genre: Art, Poetry
Reviewed by: Rae C. Bernard

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Words are such a powerful tool used to communicate our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and offer encouragement or things of the opposite side of the spectrum. To develop a level of understanding when reading any form of song, especially poetry, takes time and one day it’ll provide clarity. It can become a beautiful experience. In Edstudioz Edtertainment – Remember Me: Poems, Lyrics, Letters & Messages author Penny N. Kuria-Pettigrew shares the many well-crafted song lyrics and poetry by a young African man by the name of Edwin Henry Kuria. We’re invited into his life and inner thoughts as showcased in this book, which allows us to get an understanding of what it is like being in young Edwin’s shoes.

Each poem sets its own tone and emotion; this then invokes the required emotion from its readers, enabling a connection between his work and his readers. Some discussed things about life, while others talked about death, including others that were more in between. As a reader, you’ll develop a connection with Edwin based on compassion, strength, love, and support, wanting nothing more than to express that you can relate somehow to him. The emotional journey he’s taken can only provide you with a piece of him as lessons learned.

Majority of his song lyrics and poetry were well descriptive about life in Africa, what he’s seeing through his eyes, the pain, the struggle, the sorrow of the people of his community. He only wanted to witness his country flourish and shine just like the rest, why was that such a challenge? I understood what he meant completely about dreaming, “of this dark land filled with light and happiness,” because a majority of us wants our world to be full of positivity. This resonated with me, people all around the world are going hungry, no shelter, or other bare minimums for survival, and he wanted the evolution for hope and change to occur. Now that I look at it, his visions and dreams slowly began to come true, unfortunately, he won’t be able to witness his inner thoughts manifest into reality.

Out of all the song lyrics and poems, the one that stood out to me the most was the one written by his mother. That truly touched me as I sensed the level of pain she experienced through her words. It sent shivers up and down my spine while reading the mother’s words as she expresses the loss of her son, hoping that it was a nightmare she may wake up from. He was too young, going based on his written work; I believe he would be amongst the cultural music spins airing on the radio and social media today. The amount of talent this young man possessed indeed has similarities to Tupac Shakur. Unfortunately, no one would ever know how far he would’ve reached in his life of endless opportunities and potential fame.

I personally, am a huge fan of all forms of creative art, including those with the gift of being a wordsmith. By using our words, we’re able to communicate whatever we want, share a time in our lives with others in hopes others will appreciate our truth. That’s why, with this book, we are learning about a young man’s life growing up in Africa, feeling and understanding where he is coming from. I truly felt his words lifting up from the page, speaking to me and that is the connection I made with Edwin. It was terribly sad to learn of his early demise, even though some of his poetry pointed things out to his readers, almost as if he had a vision of his future. I highly recommend this book to anyone, especially those who were fans and supporters of Tupac’s work, something you can relate to.