Title: Full Moon Survivor
Author: Andrea Fahselt
Publisher: Writer’s Branding, LLC
ISBN: 1639458468
Pages: 68
Genre: Poetry
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
Pacific Book Review
Full Moon Survivor is a moving collection of poetry about a variety of emotions in the human experience. Andrea Fahselt has written a book that will inspire readers.
Full Moon Survivor has many nameless poems that feature action that shows the transformative power of peace and solitude during the pandemic: “He threw his sword in the ocean/Washed his hands clean/It was a life of solitude/Exile and pain of great magnitude.” The book also has poems about lost love in poems where the narrator laments their love being gone: “I reach up out of the flames/Misguided hope and misunderstood love/head held high I cast you aside/It’s toxic.”
Another poem possibly details the loss of life and innocence during the pandemic: “ It is with Earth’s kiss and Heaven’s embrace/Our loved ones have gone to that special place/Tear-stained eyes/Mischievous laughter and little white lies.”
While the poetry collection has many introspective and mournful poems, there are also many poems that are about resilience: “ He saved her/not with a sword or suit of armor/he saved her with kindness and patience.” Another poem has a loving overtone as the narrator beckons to a potential love: “ Be with me and be my love/I’ll make shelter for you from the rain/Wash away all the pain.” Fahselt’s poetry also delves into the resilience of the human spirit after heartbreak: “ One day I’ll forget I loved you/forget along the way/It will fade.”
Full Moon Survivor has a mix of sadness and strength in the poems. Fahselt’s writing is at times evocative and simple. Her writing is a mixture of romantic, wistful, and optimistic, sometimes all in one poem. Full Moon Survivor also has vivid imagery throughout the book that also shows the narrators’ overcoming obstacles by transforming into a phoenix “fashioning wings from ashes.” The book has imagery that conjures nature and “where the trees breathe the wind.”
Fahselt’s poetry would be best for people who want to read poetry about a wide variety of emotions people experienced during the pandemic, from love to loss. Full Moon Survivor would also be best for readers who want to read poems that are evocative of poets like Maya Angelou, Walt Whitman, and other classic poets who write about the human experience during crises. Full Moon Survivor is a poetry book that will inspire readers to confront their past and do the emotional work to create a more hopeful future.
