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Reviewed by Janelle Fila for Readers' Favorite
Hope: Newfound Clarity by Pat M. Kuras is a collection of poems that tells the story of a lesbian's alcoholic life. It is sad, moving, and very inspirational all at the same time. While a work of fiction, the poems read so vividly with emotion and descriptive phrases that you forget you are reading fiction and really feel like the author has shone a light on one person's personal story. And it is such a privilege and honor to see this person at her most devastating moments.
I loved the imagery in the poems, lines that really made you feel as if you were sitting next to the narrator, at the bar drinking with her. Lines like "damp rain migraine" and "postage stamp dance floor." That creates such a mental image that I immediately think of my local bar and the tiny dance floor that people cram onto, swaying their drunk bodies against each other, trying to talk over the blaring music of the DJ no one is really listening to.
I feel this collection of poems is a story that most people can relate to: the loneliness, the emptiness, the sense of loss and desperation, and the idea that somewhere there is something better, that if we just try hard enough, just keep going, something is bound to get better sooner or later. While this story was definitely depressing, it was also inspiring and uplifting, and a very nice read for anyone looking for fiction that reads like real life.
