Faulkner’s compilation commenced three months after the death of his wife, Sharon. It spanned seven months in which the written word became his avenue for navigating and ultimately accepting grief. In his poetry, he mourns, yearning for the memories of his wife that constantly clash with the colossal void that has consumed his life. At its core, the book features Faulkner baring his soul onto the page, delivering an authentic experience that juxtaposes pain with love. It is one with which audiences will undoubtedly empathize.

As therapeutic as Faulkner’s poetry is for him, he also strives to help those grieving with a compilation that effectively serves as a guiding light, a beacon of hope that life can still go on. Though the focus of the poetry is not on the fundamentals of poetic language, there are numerous instances where the poet uses personification and imagery to paint a vivid picture. In “Arrival,” for example, he personifies grief as an unwelcome guest who has become conjoined with love. Loss often intertwines love and grief like inseparable, conjoined twins. In poems like “Shark,” grief is portrayed as a shark, relentlessly circling and ready to pounce upon the most mundane of moments like an on-screen kiss during a movie.

The poetry is simultaneously simple and profound. Dealing with topics like time and healing, Faulkner ponders whether time really does heal all wounds. Poems like “Highway” ultimately demonstrate that we have zero control of the road ahead of us, only that we must keep driving and moving until our exit arrives. Despite the poetry compilation revolving around grief and love, there is an overall hint of hope that the memories—for Faulkner, a first date of Star Trek and pizza—are untouchable, immortalized in the minds of those that love.

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