Laying You To Rest {Book Review}
If you purchase books through the affiliate link provided, I will receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you. Read more about the affiliate program here.
Laying You To Rest by Lauren Eden was cathartic. Lauren sent me an advanced copy to read and review. I discovered her through Pinterest, where I encountered one of her poems and loved it. I later followed her on Instagram and became a fan. Laying You To Rest is a love story. As most of us know- love stories often end in heartbreak.
In the first section of the book “See You Tonight” we meet our lovers. We watch them meet, tumbling down the rabbit hole into a lovers’ Wonderland, running past red-flags on the road to playing house. In the second section, “The Very Missing Person” we begin our journey through the stages of grief after the abrupt end of a relationship. Anyone who has been ghosted will relate to the feelings of disbelief and denial that strike first and strike hard. In the section “You Look Like You’ve Seen A Ghost” we begin the bargaining phase. This is where we couldn’t care less about our pride and we call and text repeatedly, with no acknowledgement. Finally, reaching the reluctant realization- I’ve been ghosted, it’s over.
In “Killing You” we reach the empowering anger phase, where we remind ourselves of their terrible qualities. We focus on the myriad ways they didn’t deserve us. In section 5 “I Have Something In My Eye” we experience sadness, grief and depression. This phase of disillusionment is where we wonder if it was ever love, if we even knew them, if they were only a fantasy. “Turning You Into A Nicer Person Than You Were” is all about the nostalgia phase, which is not a recognized stage of grief, but we’ve all been there. This is where we torture ourselves with happy memories, ignoring the bad ones, wanting them back. It is normal to bounce around the phases of depression, anger and bargaining before we are ready to move on to the last phase of grief. In “It’s Your Funeral” we finally reach acceptance and have a funeral, laying the memory of love-lost to rest. In the last section “You Only Come Once A Year” we reach the part of the story where we are haunted by the ghost of love’s past, but only on the anniversary of the relationship’s demise. After acceptance is where the healing begins. Through healing after heartbreak and trauma, we get to know who we are now. We become someone new. A phoenix rising from the ashes of a love that burned bright and then burnt out.
Reading Laying You To Rest gave me all the feels. Sometimes I wondered- did Lauren and I date the same guy? I identified with the emotional turmoil of being in a toxic relationship, and the uphill battle of understanding where everything went so terribly wrong. I am intimate with the struggle to let go of the fantasy of love and accept the reality of loss. Anyone who had a relationship that ended abruptly without closure will relate to the emotions expressed in this slim volume of poetry. Anyone who dated someone emotionally unavailable will see reflections of their past in these words. Anyone who stupidly stumbled past red-flags and into a relationship with an addict or alcoholic will see pieces of their life experiences laid bare on these pages. Lauren Eden’s poetry is sharp witted, provocative, and brutally honest.
Laying You To Rest by Lauren Eden⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
