By Liv Slomka
“That’s just how they show their love.” “You’re over-exaggerating.“ “If they didn’t raise you this way, you wouldn’t be who you are today.”
These are just some examples of things said to Rose Brik in her formative years.
My Father’s Eyes, My Mother’s Rage isn’t an easy read but it’s relatable if you had a tough time growing up. It helps you feel like you’re not alone.
This collection of poems takes your inner child on a path to inner peace and to finally let go of your anger. It might help you understand why your parents acted and treated you in a certain way when you were young. It may also bring you to tears.
Even if you believe that you had a “normal” childhood, read this book and it will bring out emotions you didn’t know you had.
It’s deeply personal. There are moments when it feels like you shouldn’t be reading it at all, as if you’ve peeked at someone’s diary. And yet, at the same time, you sense it was written for you.
The book opens with childhood memories, then moves onto the aftermath of the author’s younger years and lets us join her on her healing journey in the last chapters.
It pulled me in so closely I finished the whole book in four hours.
Brik makes big feelings easy to understand. Her writing is honest and straight from the heart which is why there is something for everyone. I can’t count how many times I’ve nodded to myself and thought ‘Huh, I’ve felt like that’ or ‘I know these situations all too well.’
This book is emotional from start to finish. It is healing and beautifully done.
