Title: My Journey from Beatings to Beauty
Author: Belle
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1-5434-5611-0
Pages: 156
Genre: Poetry
Reviewed by: Susan Brown
Pacific Book Review Star
Awarded to Books of Excellent Merit
My Journey from Beatings to Beauty is a lovely collection of touching poems chronicles the author’s poignant, soul-searching journey of self-awareness that took her out of an abusive relationship and into a life of peace and beauty. There are more than 100 inspiring poems and reflections, all of which delve deeply into author Belle’s, innermost thoughts.
Poetry highlights feelings in ways that prose does not. In poetry, words are a commodity, used sparingly and judiciously to capture a sense, a moment in time; an impression. The artistry of poetry takes the reader on a short journey to the heart of any matter. Poetry awakens the senses, kindles the imagination and arouses emotions.
The poems in My Journey from Beatings to Beauty meet all of these benchmarks. Poems like Darkness, Reality, Frustrated, Empty and Why speak to the heart-rending experiences weathered by Belle and through her writing reflect her pilgrimage to try and understand a loveless childhood, her unhealthy participation in abusive relationships and her loneliness. With pen to paper, she pours out her heart, working through the worst of the trials, coming out the other side and finding a way to happiness. She writes in Frustrated, “You hold your own destiny in your hand, and if you follow your heart and your conscience, the road will come to you.”
The poems are grouped in sections, each with an introduction that tells the reader when in her life they were written and the impetus for each. Many have to do with love lost and gained, unrequited love and just love in general. There are tributes to friends and family who helped and guided her along the way. Some of the verses are lighthearted and silly, but many speak to her deep broken-heartedness brought on by the abusive beatings inflicted by a man. Her fears about ever finding a safe place to be are palpable. The yearning to find a place of comfort is unmistakable.
There is brightness though, too, and that’s what makes this collection so moving. Her dogged perseverance through the worst of the darkness is inspiring and carries the reader along from the depths of despair to a joyous happy ending for Belle. She meets a man with whom she can share a loving and peaceful life. The last section of the book pays homage to those who bring her the most joy, this man and her two children.
There’s a lightness to Belle’s poetry. The cadence of each poem is uncomplicated, some rhyme and some don’t, the structure flows naturally and each is balanced and proportional, flowing from beginning to end with an easy rhythm. This lightness is a counterweight to the heaviness of some of the darker poems, making it easier to absorb the subject matter.
What shines through in this collection is the author’s essence … hope. She knows there’s a better way to go through life, she puts her foot on that path, she never gives up and she finds herself, bringing her “a soft aroma of peace with a faint essence of tranquility,” as she writes in Finding Myself.
