Review of Of Unsound Mind

[Damian Keyes]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Of Unsound Mind" by Jesenia Vazquez.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Of Unsound Mind is a collection of poetry by Jesenia Vazquez that is a mix of real-life stories the author has gone through and made-up stories that people could relate to. The poems in this book have dark themes that cover suicidal thoughts, depression, death, anxiety, and feelings of worthlessness, that are told by using metaphors and creating imagery.

Mental health is important in today’s society, so a book like this does a great job of shedding a light on the inner thoughts of individuals who experiences battles internally. The author has gone through her bouts with mental health and encountered dark moments in her life that made her want to give up. What I like about this book is that she’s transparent in the poems that are about her life. I feel this gave me as a reader a peek into her life and made me concerned about her well-being and others who have gone through this. My favorite poem in this book is "Truth Is" because it was a self-realization claim that many people have thought about or said before in their life.

A couple of poems in the book have an illustration to go along with them; that was something I liked about this book. All the illustrations and the cover art for the book were done by the author, so I was even more impressed by her to know she’s not only creative but artistic, as well. There’s a poem titled "I am enough" that was visually hard to read because the author decided to add this figure of a woman as the main focal point and have the words of the poem in the outer space surrounding her. Plus, it was difficult to read because the words were so small. I can say that that was one thing that I did not like in the book.

If there is anyone who has battled with depression, anxiety or wanted to commit suicide, I would not recommend this book to them. The author discusses how these poems can be triggering to individuals who have been in these positions in life that she has described. One thing I must do is applaud the author for how revealing these stories were and for her candor. This book is 187 pages, but it was a quick read of long and short poems.

I’m going to give this book 4 out of 4 stars. I saw a couple of spelling and grammar errors, but they did not take away my enjoyment of the book. The main issue I saw was the stanzas in some of the poems were not aligned correctly. Overall, I can say that this book is well-written and professionally edited. If you love poetry and want to read something dark, but truthful and raw in nature, then I recommend this book to you.

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Of Unsound Mind
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[Precious Amarachi Nzeakor]

I love the cover book. The body of a woman has so many stories to tell indeed.

[Aisha Yakub]

Lovers of poetry should enjoy reading this. Great review.

[ikechukwuamarachi+55]

In everything, one should strive to maintain a sound mind and a peaceful environment. Thanks for an interesting review.

[nwankwo chibuchi]

I'm an ardent lover of peoms. I'll definitely check out this one. You delivered an impressive review. Well done.

[Itz Savaga]

This sounds like a great book that would help us fight out inner battles. Mental health is really important in our today's society and should be taken seriously. Thanks for the review, I'll definitely read this book .

[sbrooks03]

The poetry has many meaning. I feel that i would have to understand the meaning of the poetry. I can feel the expression that this Is a good book.