Mouthy is a reclamation.

A poetry and reflection collection for anyone who was told they were too much—too loud, too soft, too sensitive, too honest— and learned to shrink in order to survive.

Written in lyrical prose, affirmations, and guided selfreflection, Mouthy explores what it means to find your voice after years of silence. It speaks to the ache of being misnamed,

misunderstood, and asked to make yourself smaller for the comfort of others. Through themes of identity, softness, survival, and self-return, this book invites readers to unlearn the belief that quiet equals safety and volume equals danger.

Rooted in Black, queer, and femme lived experience, Mouthy is both deeply personal and widely resonant. It moves between poetry and prompts, confession and encouragement, tenderness and defiance. Each section offers space to breathe, to write, to remember who you were before the world told you how to be.

This is not a book about becoming fearless. It is about becoming honest.

Mouthy speaks to those who have learned to armor their gentleness, who have rehearsed apologies for things that were never wrong, and who are ready to stop negotiating their worth. It honors the versions of ourselves that stayed quiet to stay alive—and gently releases them from that burden.

This book is for readers who love contemporary poetry, healing literature, and introspective writing that sits at the intersection of self-growth and self-expression. It is for those navigating identity, reclaiming confidence, and learning to take up space without apology.

Mouthy is not asking you to shout. It is inviting you to stop disappearing.

Come as you are. No smaller.