Poetry
Ashes and Wildflowers
Poetry for healing, starting over and finding yourself again
Short, plain poems for the time when who you are has shifted and you can’t yet see what comes next. Written from inside it, not from the far side.
Find it on Amazon#1 Amazon bestseller in Poetry about Love and British Poetry
“I just wanted something that understood how it feels when everything falls apart. This book feels like that.” KenR3579, verified purchase
About the Book
Poems for the stretch between heartbreak and hope, when who you are has shifted and you can’t yet see what comes next. They’re short and plain, written from inside it and not from the far side. Nothing here asks you to be further along than you are.
Ashes and Wildflowers reached #1 on Amazon in three categories, among them Poetry about Love and British Poetry.
The title holds the two halves of it. Ashes are everything that was lost: the marriage, the life imagined, the identity wrapped tightly around roles that no longer fit. They’re what remains once the fire has done its work, the quiet aftermath when everything familiar has burned away.
Wildflowers are what comes next. They grow without permission and without planning, through cracks in the pavement and in the charred soil left by flames. Soft but strong. Proof that beauty can grow in broken places, and that healing doesn’t need perfect conditions, only time, patience and a little light.
The poems are short on purpose. There are stretches of life where a whole chapter is more than you can hold, so this is a book you can open at any page, read one piece, and put back down. It runs to 380 pages and none of it asks for stamina.
There’s no instruction in it either. No stages to work through, nothing telling you what you ought to be feeling by now. Just the plain version of what that time is actually like, set down by someone who was in it.
From the Pages
“This is not just a story of what ended. It’s a story of what emerged.”
“Nobody really talks about this part. The part after the healing.”
“Holding onto resentment is like carrying a weight meant for someone else, a burden that quietly hurts the one who carries it most.”
“Forgiveness doesn’t require approval. It requires release.”
“They are proof that beauty can grow in broken places. That healing does not require perfect conditions, only time, patience, and a little light.”
“She realised she didn’t know how to rest. Not really. Not deeply.”
“Resting wasn’t just doing nothing, it was allowing herself to stop striving. To stop proving. To stop carrying everything all the time.”
“She saw the red flags everywhere. She saw what others didn’t. What she used to miss.”
“Of the kind of strength you don’t know you have until you need it.”
“Forgiveness, she realised, is a gift we give to ourselves. A conscious decision to put down the pain, to stop dragging the past into the present.”
Hear one read aloud
Chapter 47, read by Georgia.
Who it’s for
Mostly for people whose life has come apart in a way that doesn’t have a tidy name. A long marriage ending. A relationship that quietly stopped being one. The particular grief of losing a version of yourself, which nobody holds a funeral for and which is hard to explain to people who want you to be fine.
It’s also for anyone who has tried the usual healing poetry and found it a bit neat. If you’ve put a book down because it felt like being handed a worksheet, or because the tone assumed a recovery you haven’t had yet, this one is written differently.
And practically, it suits the weeks when you can’t concentrate on anything longer. A few lines is manageable when a novel isn’t. Readers who like short-form poetry, Rupi Kaur or the pared-back feel of haiku tend to settle into it quickly.
What Readers Are Saying
Reviews from readers on Amazon.
★★★★★
It’s more like sitting alone after a long day and finally letting yourself feel it
I read this at a time when I honestly didn’t want advice. I just wanted something that understood how it feels when everything falls apart. This book feels like that. The poems aren’t complicated or overly poetic in a confusing way. They’re simple, soft, and hit you in that quiet place you don’t always talk about. The kind of lines you reread because they feel a little too accurate.
It’s not dramatic. It’s not screaming about empowerment. It’s more like sitting alone after a long day and finally letting yourself feel it. If you’ve been through heartbreak or you’re trying to rebuild yourself quietly, this one feels like company. Not loud. Not preachy. Just gentle and honest. Some poems stayed with me longer than I expected.
★★★★★
Amazing poetry book
This book felt like sitting with a friend that has been through it and isn’t afraid to be honest. The poems are simple but deep. They touch on grief, heartbreak, and somewhere between remembering who you are and where you want to be.
This isn’t something you read cover to cover. You can just open it anywhere, any chapter, and read one or two pieces and feel lighter and or more understood.
If you are going through breakup, divorce, loss, or a feeling of lost. I recommend you read this book. It will help for the days you need a quiet reminder that you are still growing.
★★★★★
Gentle and Thoughtful
Ashes & Wildflowers surprised me. The poems feel simple, honest, and very human. They touch on grief, healing, and learning to move forward without trying to dress those emotions up.
A few of the lines made me stop and reread them because they felt so real. It’s the kind of book you can open anywhere and find something that speaks to you.
A gentle, thoughtful collection that lingers with you after you finish it.
★★★★★
A quiet emotional reset
Love a good poetry book and these poems are soft but also very powerful. It’s like someone reaching into the mess of life and handing you a little bloom of hope. Any book that can make me reflect and smile while my granddaughter is basically yelling at me, truly means there is something here.
★★★★★
Gentle, Healing Poetry That Really Stays With You
Ashes and Wildflowers is one of those books that hits you in a quiet, meaningful way. The poems are soft, honest, and full of hope, especially if you’ve gone through heartbreak or big life changes.
I loved how each piece felt like a small reminder that healing is messy but possible, and that you can grow into someone stronger on the other side. It’s comforting, emotional, and beautifully written. Perfect for anyone needing reassurance, peace, or a fresh start.
★★★★★
Ashes & Wildflowers
Ashes & Wildflowers is one of those books that you don’t just read: you go through it. Page after page I felt understood, especially in the pieces that talk about starting over when you feel like you have no strength left. The texts are simple but never trivial, sometimes they hurt, other times they seem like a caress after a hard day.
It is a collection that accompanies you if you are recovering from something, a relationship, a dark period, or simply from yourself. It is not your usual “motivational book disguised as a poem”: it is sincere, delicate and true. I recommend it to those who need to remember that, even after the ashes, something can still flourish.
★★★★★
Enjoyed the poems
I like reading poetry and this book was really emotional and touching. The language was sincere and understanding. Each poem has a great symmetry, emotions and deep meaning. Would recommend it to anyone enjoying poems. Looking forward to read more from the author.
★★★★☆
Rupi Kaur fans will love it
A ginormous collection of poetry. Nice, soothing poetry, as well. This is beautiful, elegant poetry, similar to Rupi Kaur. I think people who love haikus or Japanese poetry will love this collection of poetry.
Common questions
Is this book right for someone still in the middle of it?
Yes. The poems were written from inside heartbreak rather than from the far side of it, so nothing here asks you to be further along than you are.
Which edition should I choose?
There are three, and the poems are identical in all of them. The paperback is the one to live with and mark up. The hardback suits a gift, or something you want to keep properly. The ebook is easiest if you want it to hand at three in the morning.
How is this different from The Synergy Game?
The Synergy Game is the prose story of rebuilding a life after it fell apart, and the small practices that helped. Ashes and Wildflowers is poetry from the same stretch of years, shorter and far less explanatory. One tells you what happened, the other sits in it with you.
Do the poems need to be read in order?
No. It’s arranged in chapters, but the poems are short and they stand alone, so you can open the book anywhere. Plenty of readers keep it by the bed and take one or two at a time rather than working through it.
Where to find it
Find Ashes and Wildflowers on Amazon
Paperback, 380 pages · ISBN 978-2-9596981-7-0
Hardback, 380 pages · ISBN 978-2-9596981-6-3
Ebook · ISBN 978-2-9596981-4-9
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Meditations to pair
Meditations for heartbreak and starting again
If the poems land, these sit in the same place. One of them is a premium recording, the other two are free to listen to here.
Browse the full meditation library →