by KB Meniado
THE STORY
A daring but necessary insight into themes of longing, home, bullying, loneliness, and mental health, I Must Belong Somewhere is a silver lining for anyone struggling.
With her third poetry collection, I Must Belong Somewhere, acclaimed writer Dawn Lanuza is returning to her most popular literary platform. Written during her year of rest and travel, this new collection speaks to the indescribable feelings of displacement and longing for the companionship she left behind. Touching on the difficult themes of body image, death, bullying, sexism, mental health, and injury, Lanuza brings her contemporary views and powerful honesty to address topics many are too scared to talk about. With its modern, global perspective, I Must Belong Somewhere is sure to resonate with a wide array of readers.
It’s BoJo-worthy but is it also Bookshelf-worthy?
This book carries a trigger warning in its intro pages, which says that it “contains discussion on death, suicide, ideation, violence, bullying, injury, self-harm, body image, sexism, and mental health.” It also advises the reader to pause in between pages should they feel triggered by any of the themes, and to prioritize taking care of their headspace. Given those alone, it’d be irresponsible to recommend this book to just any poetry reader, or any reader for that matter. There are pieces that are sometimes dark and raw, and might seep into currently open wounds, and even those thought to have long been healed. For the reader’s safety, I suggest to make sure to have a certain level of self-awareness and mental strength (or invite a reading buddy who does) going into it to help grasp that while this collection captures the ways of how difficult life can get, it does still lend that comfort of being emotionally ‘seen’ and the lesson that there is always hope. (P.S. Take a moment to recognize the joy of travelling again when you come across it in some verses.)
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BOOKBED 
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