Poetry saved my life. I found myself through my prison journals where I wrote about every emotion I was feeling. All the words I couldn’t say…
I found the power of poetry is in the words not written, the things you read between the lines.
You are not your worst mistake
and neither am I.
Sitting on the steps outside the Bureau of Prison offices in downtown D.C.
Toby’s poems are so clear & honest as she chronicles her thoughts through her prison life. Slowly, after suicidal despair, she somehow finds a glimmer of hope. Her poems, if read in order, show the sequence of her thinking from despair to purpose to life after prison. The poems weave a story. I enjoyed reading this book very much and chose quiet places and spaces in which to absorb her thoughts as her journey unfolded. Excellent poetry! – Amazon Review
You are about to go inside:
…inside my prison cell where journals captured my raw and broken journey. These poems will unveil my path of self-destruction, rediscovery and healing.
Inside this story of ruin, somewhere in the darkness, I discovered the truth about the real Toby. I learned how far a person could fall and still get up. I discovered redemption and freedom in the strangest of places–behind bars. The smallest, simplest things are the ones I missed the most; ice, the stars at night, human touch.
Oddly enough, prison is where I discovered myself. Stripped bare without the bindings of family and the weight of my own expectations to perform and satisfy, I finally had the safety and freedom to discover myself. Apathy, fear, and hopelessness cleared the slate for new lyrics to be written.
There is always hope. It is possible to heal from anything, no matter how utterly devastating it may seem. That doesn’t mean your life will be as it was. In fact, I can guarantee it won’t. But it can be better. It can be okay.
I believe that it is when we are at our lowest, our deepest darkest point of despair, that we are able to hear God. That’s when we are truly blessed.