Thank you NetGalley, Shelby Leigh, and Central Avenue Publishing for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautifully written collection of poetry by Shelby Leigh!! This book is her fourth installment that invites you to pause, reflect, and find hope in every fleeting moment. I have thoroughly enjoyed these honest and relatable poems. This resonated with me on a profound level and I wholeheartedly recommend this lovely book of poetry! 💫💫💫💫

The collection is divided into three parts: Sand, representing the pressure and anxiety that time imposes on us; Soil, symbolizing growth, self-care, and the hidden joys around us; and Stars, offering a guiding light of hope and healing in even the darkest times.

"I can't escape the irony of my thoughts-wasting time worrying about not having enough time."

"I have never known silence, my mind is always loud. a tornado of words swirling around my head. I cannot escape the noise."

"we try so hard to forget the ugly parts of life, but without them, how would we know what is beautiful?"

"I am not running out of time-I am running toward something great. I am not wasting time-I am chasing what I know will bring me joy."

"you wanted me to be what I'm not, someone completely new. but if I ever change myself, it will be for me-not you."

"I thought I hated the idea of losing you. but it turns out I really love the idea of loving me."

"harder than it sounds-to abandon something you have known your whole life. it was a gradual process, like sand delicately falling in an hourglass, piece by piece."

"a reminder to slow down. a reminder to breathe. a reminder that you are exactly where you need to be. the minutes will continue to pass you by. you'll live and breathe and smile and sigh and stress and some moments will pass you by while others will be memories etched in time."

"I don't know what tomorrow holds but I do know today is already here. right in front of you. what will you do with it? please hold on to your hope, don't let it slip away."

"I hope for you sunlight that stays, that everyone you meet smiles in your rays without trying to take your warmth."

So simple yet so poignant. The most relatable depiction of relationship with oneself, with others, & with the world. Captures the complexity of human emotion & healing. It felt like a warm mug & a blanket.

Beautiful book of poetry. Vivid imagery that resonated with me. I will be looking for more of this author's work. I'd love a hard copy to annotate.

This collection of poems felt like a moving meditation. Sometimes, the words felt like my own. Reading each poem had me pausing to reflect in a good way. Shelby touches on life lessons, some seem universal while others are very specific (learning to love your body, beauty standards, being able to love yourself) but even those that didn't relate directly to my life expereince were written in such a way that you could slide into that thought or ideal and live there for a moment. I thoroughly enjoyed this, thank you Shelby.

(This review is for the ARC version of From Sand & Stars)

This book is about finding yourself, meditation, life realizations, feeling alive, reaching your inner strength, appreciating simple things, taking control of your fear, and leaving a mark in the world.

I like poetry but I've not read one (this good) for so long since I feel like they don't really speak to me a lot. I love poetic poetry with engaging and unique logic and this one does! I've never heard of this author yet but I'm glad I requested this! The metaphors are deep and I love how the author knits words together to make sense of something. It's actually a magical experience!The only sad thing is that it ends!

Overall this is a delightful read! I would love to have a physical copy of this book and reread it every time I feel like life is not as good as it is. I recommend this to everyone who thinks deeply about what it is to be alive. Thank you to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the advance reading copy.

3.5 stars
Self love is a commitment. Like every commitment, there will be mistakes, fights, repetition, simplicity, complications, moments where you wonder if it’s worth it. Leigh touches on all these moments when bringing her poetry to light. There are plenty of beautiful little nuggets here that I want to write out to think on. I’ll be sharing some of these lovely lines with my sister in times when her anxiety rises. The first half of the beginning poem felt like a reading from my own journal. I found so many similarities with “repeat after me” as well. Really needed to hear “there is no right age to finalize your life.” How sad— and yet how comforting to know that there is another human feeling the same way. My journey with weight loss and pcos held hands with the segment of Soil: growth & guidance. It was probably written with completely different motivations behind the words–but that is the beauty of poetry. It can apply to several aspects of life. My mother relates to “anti-aging” as she is always fond of telling me that she’s proud to show off her earned silver hairs. I felt a bond with the women in my life through Leigh’s poems. There were some moments when the writing felt young, you can tell the author hasn't lived to a ripe old age yet, but that doesn't slack her truth. To be honest, I haven’t read poetry in awhile, so this was a nice warm welcome back into the style.

Thank you Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the arc, it was lovely.

Shelby Leigh’s new poetry book "From Sand To Stars" features three long-form prose poems about healing from past hurts and one’s place in the larger universe. The poetry contains metaphors surrounding nature, including sand, gardens, and stars, all relating to a strained relationship between a speaker and an unknown second person, as well as the speaker with themselves. The poems give a sense of peace while also hinting at bigger things in the future, reading like a type of “Chicken Soup for the Soul.” There are a few pleasant images, including the idea of a person being like an atm, kindly accepting coins and regurgitating acts of love. While many of the musings in the poetry are so generalized as to feel impersonal, this may make it easy for many people to relate with what is being said. However, the effect for me was that it was hard to connect with the speaker.

From Sand to Stars by Shelby Leigh is a collection of poems that are very relatable to everyday life. The book is divided into three sections: Sand, Soil, and Stars.

Sand, time and tension, slips through your fingers. Time tends to cause worry and overthinking. "I don't know how to be alone without feeling alone. I used to know how to be happy, or at least content, on my own. but lately when I'm by myself, all I do is overthink, spend hours staring at the ceiling while my mind replays moments I thought I left behind."

Soil, growth and guidance, is representative of the happiness in our lives when we choose to look for it. "if you are feeling empty, bare your roots to the sky and let the rain plant you like a seed, reborn into a new flower. you may not be perfect, but then again, who wouldn't want a beautiful flower just because it had a missing petal, a bent stem?"

Last, Stars, hope and healing, provides the perfect ending. "we are growing, blooming, healing, wishing, hoping, breathing, being," "a reminder to slow down. a reminder to breathe. a reminder that you are exactly where you need to be."

I devoured each poem, then skipped back to the beginning and began again. So beautifully written, tender and moving.
This is the first book I've read by Shelby Leigh, I'll be reading the others asap.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

from sand to stars put tears in my eyes. The poems comforted me in the most beautiful and painful way. A self-reflection that every heartbreak is part of your journey for you to be resilient. Most of the poems are relatable to what I’m currently going through.

Overall, poetry collection felt like your “shoulder to cry on”. It’s exactly how my soul sister talks to me. I love it so much because everyone is worthy of love in every aspect.

This was a beautifully written collection of poetry that I’m glad I got to read. Each poem managed to capture such raw emotion that I found easy to relate to. I very much enjoyed this book.

This was unlike any poetry book I read before. I read another book by the author before which I enjoyed so I had to pick this one up! This was quite the unique experience and I would recommend this to everyone who is looking for a poetry book that is a little different.

From sand to stars is a great collection of accessible poems that reads like a transformation. The poems are entry level but deep in their d’épicurien of emotion.

Shelby Leigh's *From Sand to Stars* is a stunning collection of poetry that deeply resonated with me. Each poem beautifully captures the raw emotions of anxiety and being in a dark place, yet gently guides the reader through the process of healing and growth. Leigh's words offer solace and a reminder that with time, there is light and hope. This book is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt lost or overwhelmed—it's a comforting companion on the journey toward finding peace and strength.

"Remember that rest is productive, too. a day on the couch is a day well spent if your body and mind have asked you for it."

From Sand to Stars is a poetry collection by Shelby Leigh that explores themes of self-discovery, living in the moment and many more. The collection is developed in a timeline way that allows you to move forward with her.

"We try so hard to forget the ugly parts of life, but without them, how would we know what is beautiful?"

A beautiful collection of poetry that will leave you with hope and wanting more. I love it when a poem makes me pause, re read, and pause again to let it sink in, and this happened several times throughout From Sand to Stars!

Shelby Leigh's writing is so beautiful and honest. This book has so much to say on things like growth, anxiety, self love, grief, loneliness, and healing. I think this would be a really good book to read when you're going through some kind of hard time, especially mental health wise. I'm really glad I got to read it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the chance to read and review this ARC!

I liked this collection! I couldn’t tell if it was just the format of the arc or if this collection will be physically published this way, but all of the poems were crammed together and it read more like a run on sentence rather than individual poems. I’m more of a fan of individual poems on a page, so the layout definitely negatively affected my reading experience. It also felt pretty repetitive, being told the same message over and over in a slightly different way. I really enjoyed the authors note though and the imagery that this collection invoked. It has a lot themes about self love, which is always nice to read. I think this would be a great collection for someone new to the genre!

Rating: 4.5

Shelby Leigh remains an icon in the contemporary poetry scene. Her poems are easy to follow (increasing inclusivity), and relatable. This poetry collection focuses on growth, and turning to the future. The collection is developed in a timeline way that allows you to grow with her. There were a fair amount of poems that felt added on or incomplete, which is something I haven't noticed in her other collections. But overall, if you are looking for poems on mental health, personal development, or want a soothing read, this will not disappoint.

I love Shelby's previous poetry collection Girl Made of Glass, but this book unfortunately didn't hit me in the same way. I found a strong lack of depth, feeling and imagery. While there are hidden gems within this poetry, a lot of it feels surface level and like rewrites of generic quotes anyone can find online. It feels rushed and as if it's lacking creativity.