the mermaid's voice returns in this one

By Amanda Lovelace and Lang Leav

The mermaid is known for her siren song, luring bedroom-eyed sailors to their demise. However, beneath these misguided myths are tales of escapism and healing, which Lovelace weaves throughout this empowering collection of poetry, taking you on a journey from the sea to the stars. They tried to silence her once and for all, but the mermaid’s voice returns in this one.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Mar 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781524852320

Amanda Lovelace

Amanda Lovelace is a bestselling poet who rose to fame through her poetry posted to Tumblr and Instagram. Her works have a feminist character, bringing new versions of traditional tales. They have succinct and direct verses, although reflective.

Book preview

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the princess saves herself in this one (#1)

the witch doesn’t burn in this one (#2)

the mermaid’s voice returns in this one (#3)

slay those dragons: a journal for writing your

own story

***

the

things that h(a)unt

duology:

to make monsters out of girls (#1)

***

[dis]connected: poems & stories of connection

and otherwise

for the little bookmad girl.

thank you for deciding to

live long enough

to see yourself

write a book.

then another.

then another.

then another.

trigger warning

this book

contains

sensitive material

relating to:

child abuse,

gun violence,

intimate partner abuse,

sexual assault,

eating disorders,

self-harm,

suicide,

alcohol,

trauma,

death,

violence,

fire,

& possibly

more.

remember

to practice self-care

before, during, & after

reading.

contents

I. the sky

II. the shipwreck

III. the song

IV. the surviving

When I think of The Little Mermaid, there are two narratives that come to mind: the dark and twisted fairy tale penned by Hans Christian Andersen and the nostalgic Disney rendition from my childhood. In this gorgeous collection of poetry, amanda lovelace has brought these two alternate worlds seamlessly together. The mermaid gets her voice back, and she does so with a vengeance.

As a writer, the words you put down on paper are synonymous with your voice. There was a time in my life when I stopped writing. For years, I ignored my words. I’d lost my voice. I’d lost myself.

But the world works in mysterious ways. It yearns to remind you of your place and purpose.

At first, this reminder will appear as a gentle tap on your shoulder. But if you don’t pay attention, it will come in the most brutal fashion.

And that is what happened to me. My life stopped. My world came crashing down. And when there was nothing left, my words came back to me. My voice came back. And with that voice, I rebuilt my life, from the ground up.

Now, years later, I am proud to join amanda and a collective of fresh voices, some of whom you will meet in this book. We come from all over the world, refusing to settle for the narrative that has been written for us time and time again. We are writing our own alternate endings. This is our time. This is our revolution. Pick up a pen and join us.

xo Lang

warning I:

this is not

a mermaid’s tail tale.

there is no

sea-maiden.

there is no

sea-sky.

there are no

sea-stars.

there is no

sea-song.

what there is,

however,

is the

Reviews for the mermaid's voice returns in this one

[linyarai · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this for the "A Book With A Foreword" part of my 2020 reading challenge. I enjoyed it as much as the first one, it's deep and touching and moving and powerful and hopeful.

[sumisbooks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cute little book of poetry that tells the story of a young girl.

[ecataldi-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Overall I liked this poetry collection. It's empowering, emotional, and heavy. Like the previous two collections it deals with abuse, trauma, assault, and suicide. It's pretty heavy; but despite that, still uplifting and hopeful. Confronting the hard truths and the ugly side of our lives, makes it easier to move on to acceptance and healing. Some poems were more powerful than others and resonated, but I didn't feel that about every poem in the collection. If you've read the first two, definitely wrap it up with this one.

[sboren-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I purchased this book from Amazon to read. All opinions are my own. ?????The Mermaid's Voice Returns In This One by Amanda Lovelace. The final book of this series is healing and recovery. Even when you are stuck in a place where you can't find able stop and enjoy the peace. The past is there and will always be but every day you wake up one day further away. Enjoy your present time. Find your voice. No one's story or pain is like yours and your is like no one else's be patient, be kind. Victim or Survivor? Some days they are both the same and that's ok. This one was MER-MAZING! Ahhhhh!!!!! A princess, a witch, and now a mermaid ???☄this poetry series was an amazing adventure for me. Review also posted on Instagram @borenbooks, Library Thing, Amazon, Goodreads/StacieBoren, Twitter @jason_stacie and my blog at readsbystacie.com

[gingermama-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved all three books in this series. Lovelace's poetry is original, honest, and very moving.

[pinkpurlandprose · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Many thanks to NetGalley, Andrews McMeel Publishing and Amanda Lovelace for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy. Rating 3.5 stars.This is the third volume of poetry from Amanda Lovelace and 13 other guest artists and is the final offering that follow the “women are some kind of magic” theme. In this one the mermaid has found her voice…“nobodyhasthe rightto lureyour voiceout ofyou-noteven ifthey’rea sea witchlookingto makea bargain”The poetry deals with heavy subjects like sexual assault, violence, death, and child abuse, but really relates to all kinds of trauma. I don’t think you have to have necessarily have to have gone through something horrendous to get these poems. Just being a woman qualifies you get it. I love taking these fairy tale tropes that we have all grown up with and turning them on their heads, challenging them. A castle or a cell - both can be cages. Some of the poems I loved, some were okay, some pulled at my heart strings, others broke my heart, some spoke to me. My favourite:“trauma didn’t change you all at onceit carved slowly every daylike rivers doit was patient while it hollowed you outso it’s a sculptor or it’s a knifeyou take your pain and you other ityou give it a new nameand a new faceyou say this might have helped shape meit it is not a part of meyou say i meant to break opento make room for stars”untitled by trista mateerLovelace encourages us not to stay silent and to write your own story. Find your voice and state your truth. Any way you see fit. I will add, whether you decide to share it or not. Shout it from the mountain tops or lock it up and throw away the key. It can be a valuable path to healing. That is what these women share in this volume, it might help you.

[oddandbookish · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received an e-ARC of this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is really similar to the other two books in this series. So if you liked those, then you’ll probably like this one. That being said, I still think her first book is the strongest. The subject matter of the book is very timely. A large majority of the poems center on the Me Too movement. The theme of this book is mermaids/The Little Mermaid story. However, there wasn’t a lot of actual mermaid inspired poems. She seemed to revert back to princesses/queens and fairy tales in general. Given the focus on Me Too/sexual assault, there could have been a lot done with The Little Mermaid theme. To me it felt like a missed opportunity. This collection also contains some guest poems from other poets and I loved that addition. It added some variety and it worked well with the Me Too message because it showed strength in numbers. I did enjoy a lot of the poems. There were some that really spoke to me. I did love that one of her poems was an homage to The Chronicles of Narnia, which is one of my favorite book series of all time. Overall, this collection is perfect for fans of Amanda Lovelace. If you’re looking for something different from her, you may want to skip this one.

[lbeller-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps the most impressive of the trio, Lovelace has created a masterpiece in which readers can experience the highs, lows, and everything in between of being both a victim and survivor of sexual abuse. I found it empowering and relatable to my own struggles that don't include abuse, but I truly believe this is a gem especially for female-identified people experiencing depression. It gave me a lot to consider and fuel to return to in difficult times. "I am my own sunrise."*In exchange for an honest review, I received an advanced e-copy courtsey of Andrews McMeel Publishing and NetGalley.com.