The Sunflower Project

This is the kind of offering that makes you really see the magic of words. These are the kinds of words that make you feel human. This is such a beautiful collection and I thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself in it.

Needed some poetry and this one drew me in. I'm honestly speechless it was so beautiful at times. I definitely recommend

Started reading it today and I like it so far ✌🏼♥️ I will write my final, somewhat in depth review when I'm done.

1st edit: I love this book. It's so honest and raw that it made my heart ache like I just went through the same things she went through. But I actually never went through something like that. I feel her pain with evey cell in my heart and body. Greatest poetry book I have ever read. Highly recommend.

This was beautiful story written in poetry. The words where lovely and meaningful. I love how she written about herself growing and comparing herself to a sunflower. I loved the way she described everything and it was so easy to follow the story. I could not put it down and read it in few hours. You really felt what she was going through. I strongly recommend this book to other people. This story is about love loss, rejection and hope.
Thank you NetGalley and unLYSHed for letting me reading this lovely poetry.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read this book .
It was stunning alone by the cover itself , then you get inside and the words are captivating by page 1.
It’s a raw , emotional, poetic journey and I absolutely loved it .
Self reflection ,understanding ,loss and love are definitely things taken from and experienced while reading this book .
It also explores a religious reflection and relying on and into Gods healing .
Each page drips the authors own passions and struggles and really reels the reader in .
The struggles with religion , identity , toxic relationships, sexuality , and self love and worth are served up in the most poetic natural way possible . I definitely recommend this one .

the sunflower project by unLYSHed is a beautifully written poetry collection!

I was mesmerized and amazed at this beautiful collection. I like dipping into poetry once and a while but it's not my primary genre. It can be so hard to find a good poetry collection that you connect with and understand (key word: and). the sunflower project was a collection of poems relating to love and loss that will connect with readers. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I sure enjoyed it. I think it's a wonderful collection for people seeking to find an art form to understand various types of situations and pain.

Overall, this poetry collection is an emotional roller coaster that made my heart and eyes open up.

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I don't have words to express how this book made me feel each poem is a very delicate thing that had me very into it and I love It so much.
Without doubt this became one of my favorites poetry books and I enjoy it from beginning to the end.

An incredibly emotional and powerful collection of poetry written around the symbolism of a sunflower, with stages in the life cycle of the flower representing stages of regression and recovery of coming to terms with an emotional and physical trauma.

Should definitely come with strong trigger warnings for physical, sexual and emotional abuse.

These poems were raw, narrative yet abstract. Some reflected on experience from afar whereas others very much felt like a traumatic re-living of an experience.

The writer has clearly experienced a great deal of personal growth and uses writing as a tool of self-expression and discovery.

These poems are raw and emotional yet you can interact with most of them in an almost voyeuristic and horrifying string of connection permitted by the writer.

The only disconnect came, for me, with the finding of God and the use of the word "daddy" - connotations that do not purely mean fatherhood and the way that is left open leads to a certain unsettling disconnected.

Thanks netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

*Received a free advance reader's copy for an honest review*

I have really been getting into poetry collections lately, specifically by women of color, and I was excited to see this book listed on NetGalley and it really intrigued me as I felt I could make a connection to unLYSHed writing. And as I was reading this collection I completely was entranced with the writing and the theme of The Sunflower Project. The collection follows unLYSHed journey of birth, innocence, naivety to darkness, heartbreak, trauma, self-identity and then to self-love, worthiness, faith and growth. I highlighted so many passage in this collection and felt unLYSHed really put her heart and soul into it. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is because I am not necessarily religious, and from the middle section to the end there were a few passages about faith and God that I didn't necessarily care for but I understand the power religion and spirituality can have when following and looking for guidance during troubling times.

Overall, I will definitely be looking out for more works by unLYSHed!

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for an eARC in exchange for an honest review of <i>The Sunflower Project</i> by unLYSHed. I always feel strange reviewing poetry because I am not an expert at it. I feel like I am uncultured because I’m just like “I really enjoyed this” and that’s about it. I don’t know how to write critically about it because I feel like it’s such a personal experience. It’s the same with this collection here. Instead, I go based on how they make me feel personally.

<i>The Sunflower Project</i> is a raw and emotional portrait of a life that was beautiful and touched me deep. The honesty in the words of unLYSHed stood out to me the most. I think good poems make you feel the emotions of the writers even if you haven’t personally experienced it. I saw myself in a lot of this poetry and I think that it’s important for people, especially Black women to look into this book. I felt a sense of healing and sensitivity here.

This collection explores loss, love, healing, and religion. It confronts guilt, toxic relationships, and sexuality. It’s just an honest look at what life is like for so many of us. I wanted to hold each of the poems close to my heart as they are delicate and feeling ephemeral. I experienced the writer’s personal growth with this reading experience. I plan to buy this collection for myself to keep for the rest of my life.

I do really love poetry (when I read it) and the premise of this: growth and healing, sounded right up my alley. The sunflower project is a collection of poems grouped into the four stages of a life cycle of a sunflower - it symbolises unLYSHed's life journey and growth to becoming the person she is today.

My favourite aspect is definitely the writing style - it's beautiful. raw, intimate and emotional. The honesty in her words makes you feel a genuine connection to the writer, it leaves you enthralled and hoping for the best for her. It address abuse, sexual assault, loss of faith (and gaining that faith again), heartbreak, trauma, self love and your own worth. One quote that particularly resonates with me is:

"your heart is happy now
but your mind remembers then
do not be ashamed"

The floral symbolism really adds to the narrative, and the illustration on the last page was perfection, as it shows her full cycle.

However, the major drawback for me was the religious aspect - and had I known this before going into it, I probably wouldn't have requested it. If it wasn't present, probably would have been a 4 star from me, but unfortunately as I didn't relate to it in any way, it just caused a disconnect with the narrative. To be completely honest, whenever God or 'Him' was mentioned I skim read.

I would definitely recommend this to fans of religious poetry and fans of poets such as Rupi Kaur and Lucille Clifton.

A beautiful collection of poetry for each stage of life. It is elegantly illustrated and structured and the poems quite relatable. Rupi Kaur fans will enjoy this one.

I’m so happy to have come across this poetry collection on here. It was beautiful and relatable. I enjoyed the structure of the collection and how it was broken up, the illustrations were also a really nice addition to the poems. 😊

This is a great book. I read it in one sitting and I don't do that often. Every word spoke to me. This is so many of our stories all rolled into one. It is one that everyone should read.
The lessons of maturity in faith was excellent. I didn't feel that I was being preached to, just having a conversation with a friend. I felt that this book was a huge does of positive when I needed it. I started it during a time when I was about to be out a job and with Corona not sure I'd be able to find a new one.

Last night I finished reading `The Sunflower Project’ written by Alyssia Charisse.

Synopsis: This work is an anthology of personal and reflective poems that are thematically arranged using stages of a sunflower’s life cycle.

What to expect:
- Poems about healing, love, loss, one’s connection with God, and self worth
- Lots of floral imagery
- Lots of references to the poet’s Christian faith

The Verdict: This is something different to what I usually read, but it was a nice change. The Sunflower Project has been out in the world for about a year now. If you enjoy poetry that focus on self-reflection, try this one out.

Shoutout to NetGalley and the author for giving me the opportunity to read an #ARC of this one.