Source - bibliophilegathering.com
‘Dear Girl is a journey from girlhood to womanhood
through poetry. It is the search for truth in silence, the freeing of the
tongue. It is deep wounds and deep healing and the resilience that lies within
us. It is a love letter to the sisterhood.’
About
The Author
Aija Mayrock is an activist, bestselling author, poet,
and writer. She started writing her first book, 'The Survival Guide to
Bullying' when she was 16 years old. Through her videos, Instagram posts, and
books, she has been able to reach out to a large audience and vocalized her
beliefs regarding feminism, women's rights and so.
‘Dear Girl’ is her debut book of poetry,
Contents
Of The Book
Dear Girl focuses on various stages of womanhood, and so
the poems are divided into five parts. These are – 'the search for truth in
silence', 'the freeing of the tongue', 'deep wounds, deep healing', 'with
love', and 'to the sisterhood'.
The
Search For Truth In Silence
This section of the book tends to focus on how the voice
of many women was snubbed in the past years and how it has become vital for us
to vocalize our thoughts and opinions.
She says that the world doesn’t wish to hear the truth,
so drown it in what they do not wish to hear.
She suggests the girl who is reading it never silences
her inner voice, never let the world dim her spark, and never clips her wings.
Her writing in this section is extremely personal and inspiring. One tends to
relate with her as she pens down real emotions rather than a superficial ones.
Also, reading these in the form of poetry tends to give
interpretational control to the hands of the reader to some extent. One might
perceive her poems as per his or her thoughts and opinions. This one quality
makes these poems more relatable and popular.
The
Freeing Of The Tongue
This section uses the metaphor 'the freeing of the
tongue' as the bravery of women who took the step to vocalize their thoughts
and opinions. She shows how a girl, when entering the world, expects it to
protect her. But in turn, the world ends up disappointing her.
She shows how various women are facing the same issue;
how many have soared above them and how some are still learning to fly. She
encourages the girl to take the step of unclipping her wings and learning how
to soar high and realize her full potential.
These poems comprise the motivational element in the
book. While the earlier section focused on relatability, this section tends to
motivate and inspire the reader.
The chronological factor plays a beautiful role in this
book, as it tends to gain confidence by establishing that the poet understands
the reader first, and then focuses on how the poet offers suggestions and
motivation to the reader so that he/she feels brave and strong.
Deep
Wounds, Deep Healing
This section takes the issue of generational conditioning
and trauma. The author tends to express her deep grief over the fact that how
women, even if subconsciously, tend to pass on their traumas and sufferings to
her future generation.
She says that the main reason behind this is that people
don’t look for ways to heal. There exists the problem of generational
conditioning based on their sufferings.
Mayrock challenges the teachings that are being passed on
to the girls, and how they tend to suffer complying with those. While a girl
might be determined to realize her full potential, these generational teachings
bind her and raise contradictions between her dreams and her beliefs.
She says that to heal, one needs to realize her wounds
exist and are real. Unless and until the wounds are identified, it is near to
impossible to heal. It is the drive of one's self that can help her to get on
the path of healing.
This section, following the chronological path, tends to
show how women are connected with their families through suffering. And this section
shows how healing must also be generational; such healing tends to build a
stronger bond among the women of a family
With
Love
This section covers an inevitable part of a woman's life,
her first heartbreak. The author focuses on the concept of first love and first
heartbreak. She tends to communicate the feelings of insecurity one develops
when going through the first heartbreak.
She beautifully portrays the feeling of first love, how
it is innocent and naïve. In a world full of challenges, how this first love
seems like one spot of comfort and understanding. She portrays a certain sense
of security that exists in first love.
On the other hand, this feeling shatters and leaves one
clueless and broken when you face the first heartbreak. You might feel like it
was good that it happened, but somewhere you still yearn for it. And how this
one incident gives rise to feelings of insecurity, self-loathe,
self-questioning and so.
One of the main things communicated in this section is
that it is a vital part of one’s life. And without going through it, one will
never go through it.
To
The Sisterhood
This section is the perfect ending for this book. The
author creates a sense of sisterhood for all her readers; a sense of
belongingness and comfort that exists between all the girls and women in the
world.
She portrays the girls and women of this world as one big
family, and how being there for each other makes us stronger and mightier. She
shows how our hatred for each other might destroy us, and how trust in each
other can help us create an empire.
She inspires us to stop the 'girl-on-girl hate' notion in
this society and make room for love and care.
Overall
Rating – 4.85/5
Written by – Simran Mahon
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