With The Pen You Gave Me
A collection of poems, thoughts and stories about the people we love, the people we miss, and everything in between.
With The Pen You Gave Me is my first collection of poetry and personal essays.
I have always written. Sometimes because I have something I want to say, sometimes because I don't know what to say, and often because writing helps me make sense of the things I am feeling.
This book grew from that.
It is about friendship, family, love and loss. It is about the ordinary moments that turn out not to be ordinary at all. It is about the people who shape us, the people we miss, and learning that happiness and grief can somehow exist alongside each other.
The title comes from the last gift one of my best friends, Michelle, gave me - a pen.
Michelle is woven through the collection, but this isn't her story. That was never mine to tell. Instead, I have written about my experience of loving her, losing her and learning how to live without her, alongside poems and essays inspired by many of the other people and moments that have shaped my life.
Some of the pieces are sad. Some are hopeful. Some will hopefully make you smile. Mostly, they are honest.
I don't know whether everyone will find something in these pages that speaks to them. But I hope you might find a few words that make you feel understood, remind you of someone you love, or perhaps even inspire you to pick up a pen and write your own feelings.
Available on Amazon
With The Pen You Gave Me is available to buy through Amazon. All net profits from the book will be donated to charity in memory of my friend Michelle, whose gift of a pen inspired the title — my way of trying to make something meaningful from the last gift she gave me.