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My Sober Little Moon
When I first tried to get sober in 2014, my life was falling apart. Even though, through out years of drinking every day, I was functional. I held a job, had a mortgage, cars, a family ... but I was coasting, and some point, I had lost the will to love and love life. At this point, I hadn't lost any of those things because of my drinking, but I was on a road where I could very well lose everything sober. I would rustle up a few months of sobriety here and there, but I was going insane. Thinking I could do it on my own pushed me to the brink of insanity. Something wasn't working for me, and so I kept going back out there. With the encouragement from my wife, and an ultimatum from my family, I sought help from people who have lived through this hell to tell their stories, including a dear Uncle. In 2015, it finally stuck, I established a sobriety date (07/29/15) but I still needed something to keep my hands busy during those key times in the evening when I used to drink the most. My wife, reminded me of all those lovely songs (I am a songwriter as well) and poems I used to write for her when we were dating. She was embarking upon a writing journey of her own, and I was intrigued. Knowing how it helped her, she stuck a typewriter in my face and said, "write, because I know you can." Just over a year later, My Sober Little Moon is born. In this collection of poetry, I chronicled the early days of sobriety during 2014 when I failed to see the light, and in 2015 when I found an answer. Each piece takes the reader through the pain the addiction caused others, how I viewed himself, my Love and the world as I learned to live life without alcohol. In those early days, and still to this day, I identified with a wounded bear, and the phases of the moon, and I wanted that to play into the images in the book. In late 2014, I took on the pen name of "The Poetry Bandit" because I felt like I was stealing back my love for language and poetry and to do something worthwhile with it. I had an English Literature BA, but had wasted all that knowledge and passion. It was time for the Poetry Bandit to make up for lost time.
- GenresPoetry
132 pages, Paperback
Published April 18, 2018
9 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 20, 2020
lol I accidentally posted the review as an update. Overall really interesting read.
June 21, 2019
I was fortunate enough to be sent this copy in exchange for an honest review.
What originally drew me to this poetry book, was the fact that it’s Canadian. I’m always on the hunt for amazing Canadian authors. I also really enjoyed the amazing illustrations by Kathleen Rule.
This was different than any poetry book I’ve ever read. There were a couple pieces that I could relate to personally, and adapt to my current situation and feelings. However, since I have not had the personal experience of drug or alcohol struggles, for the most part I treated this like a story and like I was seeing and feeling through another’s eyes. I didn’t realize just how powerful alcoholism can be, and how quickly it can take over every aspect of a person’s life.
Thank you to Jon Lupin for sending me a signed copy for review! I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
What originally drew me to this poetry book, was the fact that it’s Canadian. I’m always on the hunt for amazing Canadian authors. I also really enjoyed the amazing illustrations by Kathleen Rule.
This was different than any poetry book I’ve ever read. There were a couple pieces that I could relate to personally, and adapt to my current situation and feelings. However, since I have not had the personal experience of drug or alcohol struggles, for the most part I treated this like a story and like I was seeing and feeling through another’s eyes. I didn’t realize just how powerful alcoholism can be, and how quickly it can take over every aspect of a person’s life.
Thank you to Jon Lupin for sending me a signed copy for review! I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
May 14, 2020
I cannot recommend this book enough. To anyone in any stage of sobriety or recovery. A poignant look inside the mind of an addict and the roller coaster that comes with that title. This book has followed me from detox to rehab to relapse and recovery.
May 15, 2020
I read this book via my e-reader. This is an unsolicited review.
What I Loved:
The illustrations, which told a story themselves and worked well with the content. The moon and the bear, perfect artwork for me.
Every single piece was hard-hitting, well-written, easy to understand while still creating great imagery, and also quite emotional. Excellent writing throughout.
My Favorite Bits:
From Father - “stand a while on broken feet”
Cherry Lip Balm - excellent imagery through the entire piece: “The smoke tendrils around my wrists and ties down my ankles, pulls me in every direction until, one by one, my joints begin to pop like a candy powder on a child’s tongue in the heat of summer...”
Detox - “The back of my skull opens up and the tiny spiders emerge”
The Four Corners of My Life - I think my favorite piece in the book, I read it three times back to back, hearing myself exclaim as I did so, on multiple occasions, “wow... yeah, wow” and here’s a glimpse why: “These were my Four Horsemen who came to me with great fury.... 1. Alcoholism... 2. Anxiety.... 3. Obsession... 4. Guilt...” and he goes on to describe each one of these men/women. Just such an exceptional piece of writing.
Excavating - “The truth is found in my excavated chest, behind the fossilized suicide of heart and muscle and those three little butterflies I kept below...”
My Overall Score: the coveted 5 stars
I found no grammatical or formatting errors and the length for this content felt just right for me, I liked the cover art as well as the title.
My Final Thoughts:
This was really good poetry and prose. I felt all the emotions of the tale-end of alcoholism and recovery and sobriety. Self-loathing, introspection, outward observation and willpower. A strong spirit wrote this book and I was deeply engaged and moved from the very first page.
Highly recommended to those who enjoy great imagery that is easy to follow as well as living a sober life without being condescending.
What I Loved:
The illustrations, which told a story themselves and worked well with the content. The moon and the bear, perfect artwork for me.
Every single piece was hard-hitting, well-written, easy to understand while still creating great imagery, and also quite emotional. Excellent writing throughout.
My Favorite Bits:
From Father - “stand a while on broken feet”
Cherry Lip Balm - excellent imagery through the entire piece: “The smoke tendrils around my wrists and ties down my ankles, pulls me in every direction until, one by one, my joints begin to pop like a candy powder on a child’s tongue in the heat of summer...”
Detox - “The back of my skull opens up and the tiny spiders emerge”
The Four Corners of My Life - I think my favorite piece in the book, I read it three times back to back, hearing myself exclaim as I did so, on multiple occasions, “wow... yeah, wow” and here’s a glimpse why: “These were my Four Horsemen who came to me with great fury.... 1. Alcoholism... 2. Anxiety.... 3. Obsession... 4. Guilt...” and he goes on to describe each one of these men/women. Just such an exceptional piece of writing.
Excavating - “The truth is found in my excavated chest, behind the fossilized suicide of heart and muscle and those three little butterflies I kept below...”
My Overall Score: the coveted 5 stars
I found no grammatical or formatting errors and the length for this content felt just right for me, I liked the cover art as well as the title.
My Final Thoughts:
This was really good poetry and prose. I felt all the emotions of the tale-end of alcoholism and recovery and sobriety. Self-loathing, introspection, outward observation and willpower. A strong spirit wrote this book and I was deeply engaged and moved from the very first page.
Highly recommended to those who enjoy great imagery that is easy to follow as well as living a sober life without being condescending.
May 2, 2020
I’ve been a fan of Jon’s for a while now—his third book, You Only Love Me When I’m Suffering, was one of the first poetry books I ever fell in love with (and loved, of course)! Needless to say, I was very excited to read his first two books!
And now that I’ve finished My Sober Little Moon, especially after knowing a little bit about his past, family, and struggle with addiction before reading this book, it just makes me so happy to see how he’s gone from that first book to YOLMWIS! (I do still need to read the second book, Encylopedia of a Broken Heart, which is on my bookshelf and calling to me already!)
This book was a massive, emotional rollercoaster of sweet, somber, sobering (no pun intended!), sad, and powerful poems that had me smiling and even in tears. Phenomenal doesn’t come close to what this book deserves!
And now that I’ve finished My Sober Little Moon, especially after knowing a little bit about his past, family, and struggle with addiction before reading this book, it just makes me so happy to see how he’s gone from that first book to YOLMWIS! (I do still need to read the second book, Encylopedia of a Broken Heart, which is on my bookshelf and calling to me already!)
This book was a massive, emotional rollercoaster of sweet, somber, sobering (no pun intended!), sad, and powerful poems that had me smiling and even in tears. Phenomenal doesn’t come close to what this book deserves!
April 11, 2020
Such a good book of poetry. Jon Lupin writes straight from the heart and allows you to relate to his story in the way he expresses his emotions. You really can feel what he’s saying. I love this style of writing, he is definitely one of my favorite poets. A must read!
August 29, 2019
Everything about this is beautiful. I’m so happy I finally got to read it ❤️
December 19, 2019
I haven't read poetry since university, but I really enjoyed this book! It was easy to understand and some of the descriptions were just beautiful!
December 20, 2019
Loved the poems.
March 28, 2021
absolutely loved reading this book. I recommend it to everyone and love gifting it to the sober people in my world. XO
January 7, 2022
Poems are sometimes hard to understand I found most of these difficult to understand. Glad others liked it just not for me...
August 18, 2022
This was a horrible experience. Stay far far away. I feel like all the reviews he has are fake or from friends or people off a dating app.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews