Solitude is both a blessing and a curse for a poet. With the Muse often the only companion, a poet is forced to confront those overwhelming emotions prowling around the brain. While there may be some trepidation dealing with these emotions, such honesty can be insightful and refreshing. To remove the bandages covering one’s emotional scars is the first step towards healing.

Tosha Michelle is an emotionally accessible poet. Her verse puts a mirror up against the soul. In her writing, we see the joy, the sorrow, the love, the loss, the hope.

The renewal.

Confessions of A Reformed Southern Belle: A Poet’s Reflection of Love, Lost and Renewal, is a stellar poetic gem. The book provides rhythmic perfection, imagery as well the journey towards one’s roots with the comfort that nostalgia offers.

She shows us the beautiful melancholy of lovers whose destinies might take different paths but whose hearts may recall a memory from a defining moment at a train station. When she bids goodbye to neverland, there’s the somber recognition of a loss of childhood innocence. But Tosha Michelle’s poignant writing style serves as a constant reminder that even in heartbreak, renewal remains possible.

When Tosha Michelle writes “the thunder cracked the air, silencing my breath away” the imagery explodes on the page. The skill at which she weaves words is exquisite. It seems as though her heart has given her soul a blank canvas. Undaunted, Tosha Michelle lets the words dance, comfortable that they will find and sustain the beat. Even when she writes of “wasteland” or “dreaming dreamless dreams”, renewal still resonates. Even in loss, renewal becomes a promise. Even for the person who wants others to “See Me” or is questioning her own self-worth, there is hope.

There is renewal.

Tosha Michelle has a beautifully written poem, Read Me, that says: “Full of depth and secrets, what a beautiful story to be told.” When Tosha Michelle writes these words, I am reminded of the essence of Confessions of A Reformed Southern Belle. This book is indeed full of depth and secrets.

I highly recommend Tosha Michelle’s book for the beautiful story of love, loss and renewal that she has so eloquently told.