I’ve never really been one for poetry, nor have I ever really given it a proper chance. Probably because of the amount of ‘war and conflict’ poems I had to study & memorise for my English GCSE exam. 

I was a bit sceptical to reach for The Heeding at first, but I’m so glad I did. I was pleasantly surprised by this book and it completely hooked me from the first page.

Rob Cowen has created a wonderful anthology of poems which I think anyone will love - even if you think you’re not into poetry like me. A perfect blend of nature, family and community in the challenging times of the pandemic.

I finished it in one sitting, I couldn’t get enough. I found myself reading them aloud, whispering them to myself, and I know that I will return to the beautiful pages of this book time and time again. 

So much has happened over these past 2 years, and I doubt I’m alone in that I haven’t really given myself the chance to sit and think about how much we’ve all been through. I think that we are always ‘encouraged’ to move on and forget about things quicker than we can recover and reflect on them - and I feel like now c*vid has become one of those things. 

The Heeding gave me that time to sit and reflect and actually think about how it affected me, and for that I am extremely grateful. In the introduction Cowen mentions that Nick Hayes, who beautifully illustrated the book, said that when reading the poems it felt like ‘healing in the heeding’ and that is the exact feeling I felt.

I didn’t know I needed to read this book, but it put me through every emotion and has touched my heart in ways no other book has done before. It’s now one of those books that give me a warm, fuzzy feeling when I look at it.

I had so many favourites, I even committed the unforgivable crime of dogearing my favourite pages - I understand if you unfollow me after reading this lol. My favourites included: Noises Off, This Is How A Spider Is Seen, Lost, The Pact, Starling, Last Breaths, Moor, Matter, This Allotment, Viking Gold & Wolf.