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.

Title: I Must Belong Somewhere
Author: Dawn Lanuza
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing 
Genre: Poetry
Age Range: Young Adult/Adult
Trigger Warnings: Death, Suicide ideation, Violence, Bullying, Injury, Self-harm, Body image, Sexism, and Mental health
Rating: ★★★★☆

Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review

Half of me is worried about the lives I’m not living;

half of me is too tired to do anything about it.

I Must Belong Somewhere hit too close to “home”. Lanuza has captured what I couldn’t put into words. The feeling of wandering aimlessly and being lost in life. The yearning for love and a purpose. The desire to know how you want to live your remaining days.

This collection isn’t all pretty aesthetics and words like most modern poetry floating around these days tend to be. This collection brings to the surface thoughts you might have been trying to bury. It actually made me feel something and forced me to reflect which most poets these days are failing to accomplish. I strongly recommend picking this up!

There are some dark themes and I appreciated the content warning provided at the start; “This book contains discussions on death, suicide ideation, violence, bullying, injury, self-harm, body image, sexism, and mental health.”

Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the arc! This title will be released January 5, 2021.