Cover Image: The Grief We’re Given

The Grief We’re Given

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Member Reviews

@Thanks NetGalley for giving me the access to read these kinds of poems full of love and emotions.
I loved every poem, and it thrilled my heart and also my mind. I really love to read such a well written poem dedicated to love and many more. Furthermore, I give 5 stars to this book.

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This was my first time hearing the name William Bortz, let alone reading any of his work, and what a beautiful first impression has been left. Bortz dives deep into the various oceans of grief, dragging readers down with him to be swallowed whole alongside him. Bortz has the ability to make grief and desperation present in the hearts that have no reason for it. You are what Bortz is in between these pages: breathless, fatigued, frightened, and sorrowful. Amongst all of its heaviness, Bortz's words also offer moments of solace and exhalation. Like lanterns in a moonlit graveyard, Bortz invites readers into a lesson on how to hold tight to and appreciate the mundane and seemingly trivial moments in life while navigating unrelenting grief.

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This is a varied collection from William Bortz. With some poems more prose style, some 'classic' stanzas and some that are simply a potent line or two. I felt some formats suited Bortz's writing more, but that I enjoyed the differentiation and this felt to me a good reflection upon grief and how it doesn't always hit or get felt in the same ways, even within one person; sometimes it speaks quickly and fills your mind and sometimes it feels cerebral, raw and defined or defining.

It is a mixed collection, with some poems feeling particularly strong. Bortz has articulated a lot here and his vulnerability in this is admirable. There are some themes that recur and this again feels like the grief process is reflected, as thoughts are revisited and sometimes change minutely over time as we reflect on this. I loved the creativity here. For example, the poem 'tonight nothing's worse than this pain in my heart' is revisited later in the collection, with much of the content and even title crossed out, to become titled 'not this pain', with the lines then stripped right back to an intrinsic message. This technique is repeated once again in a later pair of poems too. There is clear creativity running throughout and whilst not always feeling fully successful, there are bold and interesting choices and it makes me want to continue to watch this poet.

Universal themes are reflected on and there is a lot of beauty:
"how do you ask for something not/ vital to your survival, but paramount/ in unknotting its brilliances" "Mother, you are the sky/ could you just hold me"
"someday I will pay for them/ with my body or yours/ and I am haunted by/ not having a choice in the/ matter."
"I am awash in temperate light and never question/ whose blood paid for these freedoms"
The lack of punctuation in many places, particularly when the poet is questioning life, does make it feel more internalised, as if hearing a direct stream from his experience and thoughts.

Grief is tangible here, sometimes weaponised, sometimes loaded, or smothering, sometimes offering a glimmer of hope. This feels a very personal reflection and so may not resonate with everyone and almost certainly won't with any reader in its entirety. It is worth a read though and some poems caused me to reflect and will no doubt be revisited.

It is a long volume of poetry, having 87 separate poems. I do feel this could have potentially been edited down, but at the same time enjoyed walking alongside the poet as his experience evolved within grieving and a progression can be seen.

There is hope in this work, despite it's heavy theme and I enjoyed having the privilege of insight into Bortz' feelings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for my advance copy.

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Poetry is often hit or miss for me. I wanted to read this poetry book because I had recently experience grief. However, I didn't find myself contacting the words. However, that is not to say that this poetry book won't appeal better to another reader. This book has substance and can be read over and over again to pick up on things a reader might have missed the first time.

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William Bortz has written an incredibly powerful narrative on grief. The use of language is beautiful and helps to create clear imagery in the mind. “Death will forever be the enemy because it will take” is one of the many quotes that stuck out for me during the reading of this another quote is “a wish is the bone, fractured asking to be mended/ hope is the bone never learning it can be broken”. These two lines are just a small example of the way Bortz uses language in a precise and clever way as a way of showing emotion and the way in which grief can leaving us all feel.
The flow if this book worked perfectly for me as I took in each word and kept reading. Would recommend this to book happily.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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Firstly, I'd like to thank Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the eARC for an honest review.

I really tried to like this collection of poetry. It was formatted beautifully and having been through my own fair share of grief I thought that I would definitely be able to relate and get something from this collection. However, I felt that it was written in a way that I couldn't connect with. I feel like the author had a certain way he wanted his poetry to read but of course the readers don't know how that is which meant it didn't read very clearly for me. I completely appreciate a good metaphor when it comes to poetry but I felt like there were way too many in this collection that it made the real meaning behind the words disappear.

The bits that filtered through were heart breaking and I really feel for the author. I think it's very brave of them to write such an emotional collection. I feel like grief is the hardest emotion to understand and to digest. To be able to write about the worst parts of our lives is very commendable. Maybe other people will be able to connect with this collection but I just found it too convoluted and not really accessible for the reader.

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***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
A sad, yet enthralling look at grief that I could easily relate to.

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I received an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.




I honestly do not remember requesting this book and believe it must of shown up on its own.

I have no interest in read this book. However the cover is pretty cool!!

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There is a story between the lines.

Sometimes you have to reread it to see it, but Bortz gives a good depiction on how emotion can be both a burden and a blessing, a teacher and a torturer.

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Intimate, delicate, painfully sincere; Bortz poetry collection deals with the most sensitive and personal theme there is, that of grief, and does so in the most beautiful way.

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I’m not a big poetry reader but I found this collection hauntingly beautiful. I enjoyed the different methods used and although grief is a extremely personal subject I think there will be something here that everyone can relate to. My personal favourites were “Outcomes”, “In Coping with an empty chair”, “War Paint”, “Control”, “Depression Medicine” and “Porchlight”.

I will definitely be looking into reading more collections from Bortz.

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Not my usual form of reading I know. But we all have experienced grief in our lives. My daughter is struggling with lots of sudden deaths in her life so I thought I would read this to see if there were some uplifting thoughtful poems within it.

I did find some.

Some of these poems are subjective I think to every personal experience.

I personally found myself tearful too many times as it brought back emotions I’d buried. I get the hope, I get the memory has all parts to play.

I appreciate the poems. Some stronger than others.

Because every poem is based on grief then I’d say, beware some might make you cry, feel things you thought you’d dealt with.

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Grief is a wild thing, simultaneously a simmering quiet and a roaring scream, and the causes for grief are as varied as the ways in which it is experienced. I have to admit being slightly let down by this book, not at all to say it is not good or worth reading, but simply that my hopes and excitement were too high. For someone like me who struggles with their mental health, especially lately, a visceral poetic portrayal of grief was appealing. I will say that I loved the variety of writing styles employed in Bortz's work; this only added to the depth of experience. While this may not be my favorite poetry collection as of late, I am going to keep watching William Bortz.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The words within this book melted my heart. As someone that has experienced a lot of grief, I often find it hard to find poetry that portrays exactly how I am feeling or have felt in the past... as everybody experiences grief differently. However, the poems all portrayed different elements of grief and the way it moulds you and how it almost befriends you for the rest of your life. William Bortz;s writing was so immensely powerful and I adored the entirety of the book.
Naturally, reading about something as overpowering as grief can be difficult. I found myself being able to read certain poems with ease but others with great difficulty and that's why I'm rating this 3 stars. Despite that though, this book was beautifully written

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I received a free e-arc of this poetry collection on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this collection. While the writing was beautiful and the I liked the layout of the poetry, I felt like some of the poetry did not flow well. I personally did not feel like I could relate to most of the poems which is a shame but obviously personal experience. There were definitely some poems that hit me (clearsunned and control are two examples that come to mind).

Grief is something that is extremely personal and challenging to process. These poems had some very powerful lines in them and I feel like anyone who has experienced grief of any kind would be able to find something in this collection that spoke to them. I am interested in reading more by this author in the future.

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count it all as luck that today disease is more a word than it is a feeling
count it all as luck that things can be buried before they are named: that mourning begins at first light
count it all as luck that they found the vein on the third try and the gold is flowing
count it all as luck that time, as precious as it is, only bares its teeth when no one else is watching
count it all as luck to be born in an age in which there are so many distractions one has to remind themselves that they are wilting
count it all as luck sunbeams painted my plot in warmth and they will be the first hands to hold me without asking if it hurts
count it all as luck that yesterday was an ache still humming in today's chest
count it all as luck the sun whispered my name today as quick and soft as igniting gunpowder
count it all as luck that a breath will follow this one & this one & this one & this one & this one & this one & this one & this one & this one & this one &

William Bortz
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The best poems here have a hopeful, redemptive quality to them. "Misgivings" and "It is late January and we are driving south" are two other examples of good poems in this collection. But then a lot of the other poems seemed, to me, to be a little too loose and lacking in structure and didn't have much rhythm. I think if Bortz can think more about form, structure and rhythm (perhaps getting away from the "prose style" of poetry a little bit), he could create some real masterpieces. The potential is there.

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A beautiful book of poems about grief. Each poem is touching and truly beautiful. I really enjoyed reading this and could relate to a lot of the grief in these poems. I would highly recommend this selection of poetry for anyone who enjoys poetry!

*Thank you Netgalely for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

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