From Despair to Hope and Healing is a poetry book by Barbara K. Mezera. When reading this book of poetry, you can see that it follows through the various stages of the author’s life. The book is conveniently set up through different sections, with an explanation for each section beforehand. The poems are deeply personal, giving details of life and their emotions. This deeply personal collection can resonate with anyone who has dealt with dark feelings and had inner battles of a profound and personal nature. I was not prepared with how raw, real, and deep the poems got. Even though this is a book of poetry, it tells a story in a way. It is an incredible personal journey that tells the story similar to a novel. This book is not just a book of poetry, but an autobiography of sorts, where the author’s feelings and thoughts jump off the page at you. These poems resonated within me in so many. I think that anyone who has struggled or had mental health issues can relate to it. One of my favorite lines from the book is “gaining six inches only to slide back four.” It is such a universal feeling. When you have fought to get so far and then something happens where you are going back and have to fight to get back to where you were. You know poetry is good when the underlying meaning and message can be grasped by anyone and the emotions are felt universally. One of the poems talks about being grateful. Mezera writes about the many different things that can cause heartbreak or even depression, but to be grateful for them. I think this is one of the more thought-provoking poems of the bunch. This poem really got me thinking about how everything, no matter what I have been through has made me the person I am today. In a way, I am thankful for those things. But then there are the truly horrific aspects of life that I do not think people can say they are thankful for. It had me thinking about it for quite a bit, which is something I enjoyed. I would say this is a splendid collection of poems. Not only does it have what someone would want in a poetry book, but it also tells a story in a unique way. I have never read a book that could tell me about a person’s life in such an intimate way that reveals the author. I absolutely love that it was a personal autobiography in a way. 

"Hidden behind a wall of silence – strong and thick. I lay tightly curled, withdrawn from life. Hiding my beauty. Hiding who I am." 

As its title suggests, this book of poetic reflections traces the author’s journey through her battle with depression. Divided into seven sections beginning with “Wrestling with the Big D,” she explores mental illness, family, health, occupation, shyness, relationships, and “Random Musings.” Writing with honesty and clarity, Mezera traces what she calls her “companion on my life journey” from the time she was nine through her search for an effective therapist and the right medication, beginning at age thirty. Her poetry includes subjects such as suicide, anger, and violence. Not only does the author delve into her lifelong depression, she also touches upon her diagnosis of MS and subsequent disability with poems about pain and loss. However, the book is one of triumph as readers share her journey through trials, her search for self, and ultimate acceptance. 

Mezera’s is a harrowing journey, told in poignant verse that brings the reader into the mind of one fighting a relentless enemy. Yet, she handles her nemesis like a warrior as in “The Demon and I”: “So I wage an inner battle. / Fighting and sometimes hurting myself. / Someday maybe he and I will be friends.” Her poems about depression and thoughts of suicide are especially moving in their raw honesty. This is seen in poems like “Hopeless” and “Final Solution” which invite readers into the heart-wrenching thought processes of one’s struggle with suicidal thoughts. Though the subject of the author’s poetry is heavy and at times quite dark, there is hope found within the pages of this volume, and readers will find themselves cheering along as each battle is waged and won.