No Prince, Just Princess

Just thinking of writing this post forced to the surface many emotions that I have long suppressed, but I have to thank Amanda Lovelace for her beautiful collection of poetry, The Princess Saves Herself in This One. I cannot imagine how it felt for her to relive years of trauma, and I can only empathize with part of her experience.

There Will Be Bullies

For years, I was bullied in school. I still cannot figure out why--sometimes I think, maybe I deserved it, maybe I was terrible...but reading Lovelace again reminded me that there will always be those who put you down, for one reason or another. That is not your fault. It is a horrible feeling, one you will want to escape, but it is not your fault.

In Amanda Lovelace's collection of poems, she recognizes and reveals the pain she has lived with for years, but she also shares how she saved herself. Too often (in literature or films) stories are told of people being saved by others. Perhaps, it is the Prince that saves the day, and that sure does make for an entertaining story, but Lovelace suggests that maybe the Princess needs to slay her own dragons, and become a Queen all on her own. That is what I love about her story.

I love this book so deeply, that I am shocked I have not read the rest of her poetry. I will certainly make that a goal of this summer.

As always, please feel free to share any thoughts, questions, or recommendations in a comment below, in an email (theopinionatedbookworm@gmail.com) or on Instagram (@theopinionatedbookworm1).

P.S. To the person who bullied me, for reasons still unknown, I forgive you.

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