A poetry collection by self-proclaimed emotional health advocate Chelsea Bartell, (Un)wholesome explores all of the vulnerable, messy, breathtaking, simple, ugly, and amazing parts of heartbreak, loss, closure, acceptance, and self love that exist in the world. At just over three hundred pages, this collection of poetry that is also scattered with bits of prose every so often succeeds in what you can tell it’s trying to do from the first pages, which is reaffirm what everyone so desperately craves to hear:
You are not alone.
You are valid.
This pain will pass.
Bartell conveys these messages within writing that says “I understand you.” And “I used to be you.” Rather than stand upon a pedestal and look down at others in pain, shouting at them to get over it and move on, she steps down, reaches out a comforting hand, and says “Everything is going to be okay.”
Her writing is unapologetic and unforgiving. Not a damsel whining and waiting to be saved, or to have everything handed to her in a neatly wrapped bow, but rather a warrior, a soldier that stands over the bloodied wreckage of her past and says, “Yes, this happened, but this is not how you will remember me.” And she takes the reins instead. She stands back up, brushes the mud from her knees, presses her wounded hands together, and writes her own story.
Heavy with images of prayer and gardens, it’s not hard to pinpoint that the main theme, the most important theme, is growth. Growth away from adversity, from heartbreak, from insecurity. Growth away from everything that is trying to bury you, and instead toward that which makes you stronger.
In this collection, you can clearly see the moments that have brought her to her knees and the moments in which she has stood tall once more, shoulders squared and chin raised, ready to fight another day to keep everything she has built for herself. Everything she refuses to let anyone else take from her again.
I highly recommend you read this collection, available on Amazon in both paperback and eBook format. Until then, I leave you with words from the author herself to read and reflect on.
I must learn how to
Pardon myself for
Not having capacity
To flourish overnight
I must be tender,
The blossoms are coming
All things with grace,
Take their sweet time.
You can purchase her book here. Also, you can check out her other work on Peach here and here.
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