Book Review of ” Letters from the soul”

Book name- Letters from the soul
Author – Purba Chakraborty
Book-length- 67 pages
Genre – poetry

I picked up this book because it resonated well with me and as expected, most of the poems spoke volumes to me as soon I started reading.

Also was really excited to see 24 forms of poetry was being explored with a proper explanation which was an added advantage for me as a poetry enthusiast.

Coming to the book:
the book is a collection of 55 poems based on the theme of soul searching and soul healing.

The book is divided into 4 seasons depicting the person’s life changes.

Each poetry is not mere words but seems to be a reflection of the inner self-knowledge of the author.

Autumn

One of the deepest understanding comes with the first poetry itself “alone- all one with the universe”.
Then the book proceeds with
“Let it fall away, pilgrims, time to let go, cycle, inspiring us to let go when it’s time, for everything comes back to us that belongs to us.
“You are enough, cracked heart, marks”reminds us that we are enough and whole even in our imperfections and brokenness.
Giving us hope of change through the poems ” hope, violet sky reinforcing our faith in almighty with ” umbrella of God”
teaches us patience through ” waiting for love”

Winter :
Begin poems which talks about the gloomy cold weather but as the seed takes its time, it grows into a magnificent tree
so even if we are dwelling into our darkness we are being assured that the change is around the corner through poem “eclipse” and that no adversities and hardship can back you down with “lioness of Eden”, provides the warmth of love through ” pashmina shawl”.

This section further proceeds about mindfulness and how it makes you calm on the outside and conscious of your inner self, empathy, tells us the answer lies within, a reminder of our own power through “Zen”, “pain”, “question”, “raise your voice”, “galaxies and garnets” are
some poems that tell us that healing lies in nature, the ocean and the music.

Spring:
begins with the reminder that to bloom, you don’t need to fit in the pretty frames, you bloom wild in concrete places and inspire with your story, talks self-love with “fall in love”, few poems talks admire nature and It’s a healing power.
This section talks about the equality and how liberating it is not just for women but everyone around,
co-existence how this world is enough for all of us and we don’t need to be jealous and we all can bloom together, how our good deeds and kindness stays long after we are gone, about the home we all crave for, through” glass ceiling”, “marigold”, “forever”,” perfect symphony”.
This section ends with“blessed forever” which talks about how we all are looked after and are protected by our guiding angels, can receive help unexpectedly all we have to believe that we are blessed because we are.

Summer:
this section begins with picking our self and leaving the past behind for there is a tomorrow after every dark night.
“Nature’s child” talks about how our nature can be our solace, ” joie de vivre” about the celebration of life, wild spirit,” the journey is beautiful while we try to reach our destination,” words” are a messenger of the author for every child and our elders who is left dejected sending them love hoping to make them meet each other so that they can find the love and warmth in each other.
Everything happening to us is for us not to us.
This section wraps up with an ode to the misfits, “luminous” the last poem talks about our scars which is a reminder of the battle we won.

This book is all about, learning, healing and growth, empathy and kindness, uplifting and enlightening the reader filling the heart with hope and gratitude.

Author embedded her understanding of self, universe and mindfulness, sprinkled with hope, love and gratitude weaved them into poetry using beautiful imageries and metaphors.
The perfect combination of emotions and literary devices.

The various forms of the poetry including traditional and cinquain, monorhym, Haiku, haibun with proper explanation is a cherry on top.

There is no reason to not pick up this book, especially recommend to those who are exploring themselves and on a journey of soul searching,
if you are a poetry lover and willing to learn the technicalities