"This small, brief life - a random poem scrawled."

Since poetry is so personal some collections will resonate more with you than others. While I didn't have strong feelings one way or another regarding the majority of the poems in this collection, some of them struck a chord with me. Especially Chapter VI. Terminal Benefits feels the most raw, most personal, and most emotional.

It is clear to see that a lot of skill and knowledge went into crafting these poems. My biggest gripe with this collection is that is feels quite disjointed. I personally found it hard to sometimes discover the themes that were used to divide this collection in their respective chapters. This made it feel like it wasn't a very coherent collection.

However I am not too proud to admit, that it is entirely possible that I just missed the mark somewhere. I've read and written poetry, and studied it on a surface level. But I haven't dedicated years of my life to it, so the possibility that I am just missing something here exists.

"The truth you know resounds again:
we are smaller than the fragile bones
of birds with wobbly legs
who neither sing nor scorn the silences
that glorify their flight."

I would recommend An Absence of Fear to readers who love poetry that covers a wide variety of topics and is presented in varied forms. This collection features an exploration of childhood, relationships, grief, death and more.

An Absence of Fear by Holly Peppe is a vast collection spanning many years of life and writing (or at least this is how it felt). For me this was both the collection's strength and weakness. The poems seemingly written later in Peppe's career were stunning portrayals of living, skill and poetic sensibility. Other poems paled in comparison and this meant the collection as a whole seemed quite a 'hit or miss' experience at times. This said, Peppe is undeniably talented, having curated the work of many others in her career. Her work is life-affirming, particularly towards the end where her poems honestly explore an incurable cancer diagnosis - finding meaning and purpose, and ultimately living with open arms, rather than fear.

A poet's heart is often touched or opened by other poets. The almost magical quality of poetry and its ability to say so much more than the words it shares, the rhythms find purchase and tease open hidden aspects of ones being, reminding you of who you are. You may be surprised by the differences and similarities with that other poet, who here leads you, unsuspecting, into the greatest depths of being. Of where we will all ultimately be led. Starting reading with the mind, the reviewers eye, then quietly being taken into the unexpected heart of the matter, all the more welcome and revealing for how open you have becomes to where you are being taken. Much like life, and death. Thank you Holly.

An Absence of Fear is a beautiful, lyrical, yet poignant book of poetry. It gradually tells the story of loss, grief, and terminal illness, scattered throughout beautiful observations of nature, animals, and life.

I loved this book of poetry. I loved the writing, which was lyrical and whimsical from the introduction. I loved the gradual story of what happened to the author, and the slow realisation of what eventually happened. The poems were honest and heartbreaking, loving and pure. It was easy to see the authors’ feelings through the verses.

This is an excellent book for a poetry veteran or novice. The verses are easy to understand, and paint a vivid picture in the readers’ mind.

Thank you to Netgalley and Amplify Publishing for an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of this book. All opinions are my own.

What a beautiful, honest, and heartfelt collection of poetry. It is evident that this author poured her soul and her personal experiences of joy, pain, and grief into each poem, slowly revealing major events of life and loss throughout. The title is perfect for this collection, which demonstrates the author’s resilience to rise up and keep living despite certain circumstances. She has laid her soul bare and her feelings are palpable, especially within the last few poems. I would definitely recommend this collection to everyone! Thank you to NetGalley, Holly Peppe, and Amplify Publishing for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A thoroughly enjoyable collection. Perhaps enjoyable seems not to be the right word here but there is no word better to sum it up. In the midst of all the death and the sadness of the world, every poem here shows there is a life you live in this place, a life you can love. For every sadness in this collection, there is beauty. This is a collection in which many will find beauty but would be best thumbed by lovers of Dickinson, Mary Oliver, and the Pulitzer novelist Marilyne Robbinson. Whilst there were a few poems that were not quite to my taste and felt to me a little flat I think says more about me than it does Peppe's poetry. There are so many wonderful poems here which I shall be thinking of for days to come. I can only say how much I admire the ability to experience something terrible and transform it into something beautiful.

Really beautiful collection of poetry. Covers a wide variety of topics and emotions. Definitely recommend.

This was a poignant and quietly powerful poetry collection. Some of these really shook me to my core, while there were mundane ones. Highly recommend.

A compilation of poetry that seems to span many years. The last poems are about the author’s terminal illness and I enjoyed (that seems the wrong word… felt?) them the most.

A quick easy poetry read about life and death.

About growing up, losing parents and grandparents.
I would recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Here are some of my favorite quotes.

“I wish I believed in heaven instead of a physical death“ (this may be my favorite because I can resonate with it a lot. Some of us don’t believe in a heaven and that’s okay.)

“In many ways loving is like dying.“

“I warn the boys (don’t give too little)
I warn the girls (don’t give too much)“

Thank you NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.