ABOUT THE BOOK
Have you ever felt like you were just wearing a person suit, or a mask? You get up every day and get dressed. Maybe you go to work or to school. You plaster a smile on your face and you make it through your day without anybody knowing the real you. So many people feel they are hiding behind a mask or wearing a "person suit" like it is a costume because they are hiding a secret pain.
"Person Suit" is a nonfiction anthology of short stories and poems written by people who have experienced pain and have held in the secrets about something that has happened to them for too long. These are not professional writers, but they write from the heart. Some of these authors are speaking out about something for the first time. When the advertisement for this collection went out, many of the writers privately thanked me for giving them the excuse and the courage to finally tell their story. Writing can be a healing process and a good way of coping with the pain of grief and loss.
It is our hope that by reading these stories of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, depression, suicide, mental illness, lost love, death, and grief anyone who is suffering from something similar will know that they are not alone, and we hope that they, like these authors did, can heal and overcome.
MY REVIEW
5 out of 5 stars
This powerful collection of stories and poetry focuses on painful experiences, both real and fictional. While reading the collection, it is obvious that the authors and poets have bared themselves to the world and the amount of bravery it must have taken for them to submit their emotional work to be published is laudable. The ‘person suit’ that the title references is the mask that most people wear to conceal their true self, thoughts, or pain from the rest of the world.
The stories in Person Suit are divided by theme, covering topics including mental illness, abuse both mental and physical, love, and many others. The stories are both entertaining and incredibly touching. It would be hard to not be touched by the raw emotion present in every single entry. The collection is easy to relate to and truly has something for everyone. The stories originate from all over the world and present a diverse amount of people and relationships from all walks of life.
I am giving Person Suit five out of five stars due to the fact that it is a truly impressive collection of emotional and powerful stories covering many topics and issues. The stories are all very different yet work as a very powerful and emotionally complex and cohesive whole. Person Suit serves as an important reminder of the power of writing as an emotional outlet and the fact that despite our differences, we all experience pain and suffering and are able to survive it and carry on.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for writing a review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.