Review of A Fate Unwound Too Soon

Unsullied · Post by **Unsullied** » 03 Nov 2021, 01:37

[Following is a volunteer review of "A Fate Unwound Too Soon" by anna-karen sorensen.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Life's hard and unfair; premature birth feels like starting the journey with all odds stacked against you. Some babies survive this while others do not, and it mostly depends on the type of care they get. While it's also hard for the babies, the mothers have to bear and show most of the pain of these heartbreaking experiences. This topic is so dear to Anna Karen Sorensen as evident in her book, A Fate Unwound Too Soon.

The book is a collection of about 70 short poems speaking about premature babies' experiences, care, and development. The first chapter is an introduction done in the form of narration and not a poem. With the help of some images, the author recalls and narrates some of her experiences taking care of these babies. She talks about death, survival, empathy, sympathy, and faith. The poems are written from the perspectives of the babies, their parents, and the caregivers to express these stakeholders' emotions in those difficult moments.

A poet's first point of judgment is their ability to evoke emotions. Anna did exceptionally well in this aspect. The poems elicited emotions of both sadness and happiness but mostly sadness. While these may have been devastating to read, they phenomenally stirred my emotions. I actually felt like I was going through the journey of mourning with the caregivers and parents who lost their babies. What stands out is her ability to fit into the shoes of parents who have lost their kids to premature birth and express their feelings clearly and sincerely. It is the epitome of empathy.

The poems were well-written and surprisingly easy to comprehend despite using medical terms in some of them. They were well-organized and seemed to flow easily from one to the next. My favorite poem in the collection was one titled 'The Bus of Life.' I loved the analogy that equated daily life to a journey by bus. This poem was well-thought-out and properly delivered by the author, leaving me with thoughts and reflections about this thing called life.

I, however, did not fancy the author's use of real images of premature babies in the book. I think this is a sensitive topic that requires so much care in handling, and showing the images of these babies at their most vulnerable moments was unnecessary. The poems were powerful and moving enough to have delivered their messages on their own. I have to say that this is just my opinion; the author probably had her reasons for doing that.

I give the book a perfect rating of four out of four stars. It was well-written, exceptionally edited, and full of insights. The negative I mentioned is an opinion that does not affect my rating of the author's writing. I'd recommend this book to lovers of poetry, especially those that have experienced this kind of loss. Anna feels your pain and has documented it expertly in this book for you.

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A Fate Unwound Too Soon
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