ARA Review by Nals_true_as_a_boo of Sifting Your Life and Gathering Pearls

[Nals_true_as_a_boo]

[Following is an OnlineBookClub.org ARA Review of the book, Sifting Your Life and Gathering Pearls.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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Review of “Sifting Your Life and Gathering Pearls”, by Joy Angel Stalvey Barefoot.


Life is but a tale whose theme is defined by its very own author. There lies fury, envy and despair amongst the million memories of each individual however, it is when one chooses to grasp the wonderful moments and dwell not on the pain endured, which captures the true essence of life. Sifting Your Life and Gathering Pearls is a compilation of two hundred and fourty four poems that embody different moments in the poet's life.


The book illustrates many lessons, some learnt by the poet herself and some interpretated by the reader through their perceptions of particular realities. The book teaches about many subjects, some depicted in the very titles of some of the poems such as “A Dream”, “Loss”, “Peace”, “Fear”, “Changes” and “Endurance”.


I was amazingly captivated by the vivid imagery and diction painted across the varied poems. The poet used a narrative approach making the book much more palatable. The great amount of poems it consists of just goes to show how extraordinary the book is and makes it stand out.


I give the book a 5 out of 5 rating. It is absolutely flawless, error-free and grammatically perfect. It is formatted in such a way as to give the reader the space and time to digest each poem before turning the page to journey unto the next. The fact that the poet did not divide the poems into different topics allows the reader to thereby choose for themselves what each poem stands for in their lives and let their imagination run wild without being limited by themes and subjects for each one. What may strike one individual as a poem on the beauty of love and romance may be perceived as a tragic story of falling into desires and no self control by the other.


For great inspiration and to evoke nostalgic feelings, I would page through this book any day. Joy definitely succeeded in unconventionally displaying poetry through stories of her life and growth. In a world splattered with violence and pain, all one needs is a good book to help remind of them of the importance of looking at the silver linings of each cloud, no matter how dark it may be.

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