The Loss of The Fire

This book has been 12 years in the making, yet it is challenging for me to succinctly convey how I wish it to be perceived. In general, it is a story of transformation. Growing up as a Black girl in the southern suburbs, I often felt out of place and bewildered about my role in society. My mother noticed my need for an outlet and handed me my first journal. As I filled its pages with my emotions in ink, iPhones were invented, and I found myself using my note app for poems that explored my journey of self-perception, identity formation, love, and community. However, for those readers who only skim the first and last sentence of a paragraph, this book is about learning to embrace all aspects of yourself, including those that may be difficult to love.