The journey through life is filled with joy and crisis, and in this collection of raw and touching poetry, Waves of Grace by Anna Grace, we examine the many obstacles we must overcome. The complexities of dealing with our emotions in relationships with others, while trying to figure out who we are, can be challenging. How can we discover our true self with so much influence from the media and outside influencers who dictate who we should be, the pressure to conform and fit inside our designated box? From relationships, grief, death, birth, and love, human behavior can differ greatly in times of joy and trauma. The emotions are real and the message is powerful. In a society where winning is the only goal and sensitivity is perceived as a weakness, this collection will encourage you to unlock your true potential and live your life truthfully and with joy in your heart.

In Waves of Grace by Anna Grace, this eloquent collection of poetry epitomizes the pain and inner struggle we all face throughout life. The complexities of relationships - passionate, destructive, and lost - are all depicted brilliantly. There are also thought-provoking poems that inspire everyone to live life authentically in the face of judgment from others. The pain and sadness of losing someone to illness, especially cancer, were particularly poignant for me, as the emotions were so true to life. The author is so accurate at depicting human behavior and the emotions we feel at certain times in our lives. Her use of the English language is exquisite. I especially enjoyed Friday, Life, Fine and Story. The final poem Fly was my absolute favorite, dealing with a destructive relationship through the eyes of their child.

Waves of Grace by Anna Grace is a collection of general poetry that would appeal most to a diverse audience of poetry lovers, both young and old, who do not mind some explicit language. In this collection, the author explores a variety of themes including life, love, and human nature. The collection is composed of more than fifty different poems of varying lengths, topics, and styles. This collection invites a pure emotional connection with life, love, and human nature through emotionally driven words.

Waves of Grace by Anna Grace is a beautifully written collection of poetry with an equally intriguing cover. It was the cover of this collection that first caught my eye as the difference between the ocean frame of the cover and the inner frame of a woman made me wonder at the connection between the two images. I ended up being quite glad of this fact as I found the poems within to be simply captivating with how the author seemed to imbue pure emotion into her words. The author’s talent for poetry can be seen in all of the poems in the collection; however, I found it to be most evident in my favorite poem: All. This poem managed to perfectly sum up not only what love is, but also what love should be using short stanzas that made me imagine how I want to be loved. Overall, I found that I greatly enjoyed the emotional rollercoaster that the author took me on and I especially liked the feelings the work evoked in me.

Waves of Grace by Anna Grace is a compilation of seventy-five pieces of poetry that focuses on the personal aspects of being human and the full range of emotions, feelings, and experiences. The poems are all in free verse, with stanzas frequently formatted in concrete poetry with varied shapes that punctuate lines and provide emphasis. An example of this is in the poem John Wayne, where the poem is formatted in a series of loose but connected quadrilateral shapes, culminating its stanzas with the power of a single word. Several poems are narrative in style, such as Katie, an ode to a companion who was a source of support during chemotherapy. Lastly, Grace imparts sprinklings of work written as epigrams with dynamic punches of short, often single sentence wordcraft.

Waves of Grace is really a beautiful compilation. Anna Grace taps into emotion with a series that allows a reader to feel and connect, often through poems that I would not have anticipated to evoke such a response at first glance. I found myself going back to the poem Mag, a simple six-line piece that rebuffs the oft well-intended but counterproductive “get over it” while a person is grieving and acknowledges the reality that some of us will struggle to move beyond...and that's okay. Poetry is deeply personal and because of this, it is often difficult to review. That is not the case here as Grace has crafted a book with something that will resonate with any reader on the journey of self-discovery, or even just those who are looking for something new to get lost in.

Waves of Grace by Anna Grace is a gorgeous offering for fans of poetry, a collection of poems that features a piece of humanity in them. They are poems that will resonate with most readers because the author writes about the human ache for love, the fulfilling sentiments of genuine human connections, loss, family, nature, and much more. The poems are elegant, each capturing a moment, a desire, or an experience. Combing her unique gift for description with evocative writing, the author conjures images that are familiar to readers and shares thoughts that are uplifting.

Anna Grace’s poetry opens a portal for readers to pass through to an ecstatic moment. It is like she lifts the veil to reveal deep human longings. As one reads from poem to poem, the humanity that is written into these poems becomes more vivid. I had to stop and ponder on some of the lines, at their hidden meaning, and to savor the images they conjure up. Here is one that stuck with me: “I like the sound of a grown man weeping, / like somehow a new earth is being born.” Waves of Grace is evocative and the use of the personal pronoun “I” makes some of the poems strong and intimate. The style is simple, and the poetic utterances are loaded with bursts of wisdom and lessons about life. This book of poetry is for readers who enjoy the exploration of love from a feminine perspective and those who love poems that capture details of the human experience in a style that is accessible and diction that is familiar.