Book Review : You Didn’t Leave Loudly by Richard Howardson.

You Didn’t Leave Loudly: Poems on Almost Love, Silence, And Choosing Yourself written by Richard Howardson.

I haven’t read any poetry for a while and this will be my first poetry read of the year. The reason I chose this book was its title, no not the first half but the second half “Poems on Almost Love, Silence, and Choosing Yourself.” This line somehow suggested that the book would suit my taste and hence I picked it up.

This is a poetry book where the verses begin right from the very first page. It consists of four parts and within them we can find twenty-seven detailed poems. All four parts speak about different stages of love and relationships, especially when they leave us with scars, how we feel, what we go through and what we need to learn from it and mostly how to handle ourselves and move on etc. More than just a collection of poems I would describe this book as a guiding companion that understands and expresses our feelings when we are in love.

The beauty of this book is that it starts its verses right from the first page and even the poem in the dedication section is remarkably versatile. There are no page numbers in this entire book and there is a section titled “How to Read This Book,” which feels unique and refreshing. Altogether these elements add a calming touch to the reading experience.

The wordings presented in this book feel both motivating and soothing. I liked almost every poem in it and choosing one or two favourites is quite difficult. However, the one titled “The Apology I Owed Myself” stood out as exceptionally well-written.