Pain & Pleasure: A Collection of Lyrics & Poetry

by Stephanie Owen

This two-part collection of lyrics and poems embodies the vast and complex spectrum of feelings through love, infatuation, loss and heartbreak. From euphoria to depression. From intense joy and romance to longing and wonder. Your emotions, heart and experiences will be reflected and validated from start to finish, no matter your personal journey. Author, Stephanie Owen, has an innate ability to dive deep into the purest waters of human experience and write from both her own and those of imagined lost souls out there

145 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2020

About the author

Stephanie Owen was born in Westchester County, NY and has lived in New England for most of her life. Her hobbies and interests include travel, fine dining, singing/songwriting, night walks, hiking and the outdoors, astrology and the paranormal, stand-up comedy, movies, music, animals and spending time with close friends. "Jealousy" is her first novel and it was originally written when she was only 16 years old. The book went through many edits and rewrites before finally being ready to publish in 2019. In addition to fiction Stephanie is a poet and lyricist. Her 2nd book, "Pain & Pleasure," contains another decade plus of original work. Her latest poetry compilation is called Rebirth and reached #5 on Amazon Kindle the day it was released. Stephanie Owen also creates and designs her own book covers.

Amazon Author Page: www amazon.com/author/owenstephanie
Instagram: @SO_Industrious

Reviews

[themarsbeing · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poetry and lyrics took me by surprise. The author has brilliantly penned each poem, making the whole reading process enjoyable. But let me tell you something, this book is not a quick read. You need to invest your time and carefully read the poems to understand the depth of poetry.

Reading this book made me think about how poetry is being defined these days. I know, there are no rules here. For me, poetry is not a bunch of words put together, it's also not about how it makes you feel. There's a lot you can do other than just write plain poetry. Poetry can be made beautiful and enjoyable by making use of poetic devices. This book scores an extra point for that. I noticed a lot of literary devices being used throughout the book - rhymes, rhythms, metaphors, similes, refrains, enjambments, and many more. The poetry in this book is very well structured with vivid storytelling. The author's storytelling ability is another highlight.

This book is divided into two sections- Pain and Pleasure and it's a journey through rhymes and rhythms describing feelings around it. Pain doesn't have to be always painful and pleasure can be confusing sometimes. We all go through a wide range of emotions, confusing, from one relationship to another, sometimes chaotic and the heart is a vessel trapped in these waves, looking for a shore. Love has different meanings and pain is sometimes hard to explain.
The author was able to capture all this madness- loss, heartbreaks, infatuation, longing, and unconditional love, and much more and turn them into verses to talk about the uncertainty in relationships. even when you have everything, you might feel empty, you might be alone, struggling to move on.

I enjoyed reading this book a lot and I'm looking forward to reading more poetry books by the author

I have so many favorites from this book:
- Mercury Retrograde
- The Best I Could
- Hurting Me
- Uncertainty
- Must Be Mistaken
- Turn Out The Lights
- Obviously
- Wasting Away
- Green Sky, Grey Grass
- Goodbye
- Back Down
- This Fantasy
- Where The Air Meets The Sea
- The Same Zone
- Beginnings
- Soul Ties
- Misdirection
-Firsts

THIS IS NOT INSTA POETRY, THIS IS POETRY.
Go for it!

[Jasmine Dine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephanie Owen’s poetry collection ‘Pain and Pleasure’ is such a powerful creation. Owen’s ability to create both beautifully tender, and harrowing poetry is unbelievable. The book is literally split into two sections; the first- pain, and the second- pleasure. I was particularly pleased that the poetry fell in that order because you are dropped straight into something painful that resonates so deeply, and then almost nursed back to health by pleasure in the second half. Despite the theme of pain, this collection is pleasing all the way through.

I had a silly number of favorites, but I particularly enjoyed how the last poem in ‘Pain’- ‘Sorry’, and the first poem in ‘Pleasure’- ‘Faith’ fit together. The two created such a dramatic emotion within me- there was so much strength in those words! Another thing I felt was well executed was how the poem ‘The End’ was just before the poem ‘Beginnings’- because endings are almost always the start of something new- and that is a brilliant representation of what it is to feel both pain and pleasure, which we can all genuinely identify as true for us- no matter who/what/where/how we are as people. Some of my other favorites were: Monster /The Summer /The Storm / Unsound /Peaceful Melody/Where the Air Meets the Sea /Morning Dew /Energy/Soul Ties /The Archer /Fill Me Up.

I love how the author has used rhyme and repetition through-out; her clever flow is so lovely to read that you read the same ones over and over again, just to experience the song like treasure that lives within each piece, another time! I found each page to be strikingly relevant to my own experiences and I think that is such a brilliant feeling for any reader, it’s a true skill to be able to write this way. Owen’s has astutely crafted a real dark and sexy, humdinger of a book here, one that I would recommend to any reader looking to experience the full depth and breadth of human emotion.

[Charlotte Fay - the starlight pages · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read

What a wonderful read. The author has taken so much care in writing each and every poem. The writing is smooth and flows beautifully with the rhymes. A thoroughly enjoyable read for anyone who enjoys poetry.

[Tara Aryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephanie Owen’s book has a real musical flow as her collection depicts. It is very different to other poetry books that I have read which is why I have classed it as ‘unique.’

I felt this collection was far more lyrical with a great rhythmical flow although this didn’t digress from her poetical style. With each page, I felt her work being ‘played out, so to speak and this made it more engaging. I liked her repetition scheme which featured throughout the book. It felt like it almost drew conclusions to each piece. I could totally resonate with many of Stephanie’s works, which detail heartbreak and other elements of pain, whilst ending with pleasure.

This is a collection you can really immerse yourself into. I found myself re-reading many pages of this book, just to be able to digest all the ‘feels,’ that surround her lyrics. I saw a lot of my teenage self in her works. The ones that particularly stood out were ‘One More Day,’ ‘Can’t Stop,’ ‘Colleen,’ ‘Morning Dew,’ ‘Embers,’ ‘Making Love Like Art,’ ‘Meet you in my Dreams,’ ‘Just a Ghost,’ ‘This Storm,’ & ‘Sunshine won’t stop the rain,’ to name just a few.

I’d highly recommend this book.

[Priya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a beautiful collection of amazing poems and lyrics split into two parts dealing with the most important human emotions pain and pleasure. The author has covered various emotions in her poems like love, heartbreak, longing for loved ones, infatuation, struggles and chaos in relationships and so on very beautifully that it keeps the readers wanting for more.

The wordplay, the way of writing and the storytelling through these poems are just amazing. The poems in this book have so much depth to it and you need to invest more time and effort in understanding those. It is not an easy read for beginners.

The author used rhyming and lyrical stricture to the poems that suits them so well and each poem is unique and tells you a different story. There are so many wonderful poems in this book that I can't really pick a favourite.

I loved all the poems in this book and I recommend it to every poetry reader.