Surrender: poems for healing, growth, and love

Product Information

While growing up, I never really understood poetry. The odd structure and the abstract metaphors left me confused. The dramatic tone and intense imagery felt forced and unrealistic. Irritated, I wondered why poets couldn't express their thoughts and emotions more clearly so that I could better follow them. THE SURRENDER THEORY is a stunning debut and beautiful exploration of grief, of love, of loss, of growth and of everything in between. Caitlin Conlon is a true gift. Lately, I have been dealing with grief and heartbreak. And because I couldn't find the right words to describe them, I have felt confused, guilty, lost, and lonely. The Surrender Theory made me feel understood. Caitlin Conlon has followed a similar path to mine and has given words and meaning behind my thoughts and emotions. Throughout this book, I truly felt seen and heard. As a result, I feel a little less lonely than I did before. Had I read this 10 years ago, I probably would have been obsessed with it. I too was a sad girl mourning what felt like an insurmountable loss. But now, at 31, 'The Surrender Theory' felt shallow. Stefanie Briar is a queer 37-year-old poet and editor from New Jersey. She is known for creating powerful, relatable, accessible poetry and prose that stands out from the crowd. Her goals are to make her readers feel seen/understood and to prove that poetry is not a dead language. Aside from her own author career, she uses her university degrees and 14 years of experience teaching English to work as a freelance editor. Poets who are publishing books of their own hire her to edit and proofread their manuscripts.

I don't think all the pieces in this collection are equally strong. There were some that didn't keep my attention, making it feel a bit long. I also didn't find the use of repetition powerful in every poem. Some just came across as distracting to me. I noted "The Red Room" as one example. The color red is so striking that it paints the whole poem right away. At times I thought pieces were overexplained, one example being "Linguistics." I think the end lines identify a feeling of desperation that is already evident throughout the poem. This is my first introduction to Caitlin Conlon and I am beyond amazed. This collection trails from heartbreak and grief to new love and forgiveness. From surrendering to grief to surrendering to new love.This was a fitting collection to read at the beginning of 2023 as I am letting go of my own forms of grief and focus on healing. A lot of these poems not only resonated with events out of my own life but also how I felt. I appreciate writers who can put into words these emotions - it helps me process all that I never had a name for. This is a writer who I am excited to read more from.I love that the poet found love after it all, and the poems to and about her partner are a lovely change of pace in this collection, but after all the death and heartache and sadness, they almost feel... Misplaced. Burn", her third book, was released on 4/18/21, and became a #1 New Release. "Burn" is bold, fiery, passionate, and powerful in its poetic journey through the multitudes of life, self, and love. Most of the book's poetry uses fire metaphors, imagery, and/or allusions. Stef cites "Burn" as the book that "put her on the map" as a modern poet. What Conlon has done best in The Surrender Theory, to me, is successfully woven a myriad of poems, that present in different styles and odes to other poets or media subjects, into a fluid arc. I could feel the darkness so present in the first half of the book lifting the further along I read. As cliche as it sounds, said darkness is replaced with a hopeful sensation. Conlon and her poetry don’t necessarily replace or hide away the depression and the hopelessness of past feelings and trauma, but rather highlight how you can successfully move forward away from them, even if they are always haunting nearby. Unfortunately, Caitlin Conlon's 'The Surrender Theory' was more of the latter than anything else to me. Speed Dating in the Twenty-First Century, or a List of Things You Should Know About Me That Require a Level of Urgency

I probably would have appreciated and enjoyed the collection more if it was shorter, but as it is, it was a "hmmm, no" for me. There isn’t much that scares me more than my own heart, a monster of tenderness. I have an irrational fear that I’ll wake to find it perched at the foot of my bed, begging to be torn apart, consumed in the name of compassion. And that’s incredibly terrifying for a few different reasons but mainly because I’d do it. I’ve never needed an excuse to sacrifice myself for love. I’m a martyr for everything soft. I confess to you: I’d bleed for anything if it held me the right way. I confess: I have. I have.” I received an advanced reader copy of this poetry collection from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Shout out to Central Avenue Publishing and Caitlin Conlon. Authored Works: Stefanie Briar is a queer 37-year-old poet and editor from New Jersey. She is known for creating powerful, relatable, accessible poetry and prose that stands out from the crowd. Her goals are to make her readers feel seen/understood and to prove that poetry is not a dead language. Aside from her own author career, she uses her university degrees and 14 years of experience teaching English to work as a freelance editor. Poets who are publishing books of their own hire her to edit and proofread their manuscripts. Much of the collection feels both formulaic and juvenile, and while there are glimmers of brilliance, a lot of Conlon's work in this collection falls flat to me.

Customer reviews

I want to thank Caitlin Conlon for being brave enough to share her entire self. In doing so, she has not only ignited my appreciation for poetry but also made me understand my own story and how I fit into it. Nowadays I don’t know what to do with my hands. I write. I say your name over and over until it isn’t a word. I sit outside and weep into the daisies until memory becomes less of a burden and more of a fact.”