Review: The Fragile Humans We Are: Vol. 1 by V. Walker.

A well-crafted read, The Fragile Humans We Are is a deeply personal and emotionally powerful book-- highlighting V's struggles with depression, grief, and learning how to love.

A well-crafted read, The Fragile Humans We Are is a deeply personal and emotionally powerful book— and is written in ways which feel like little notes or letters kept for others to find. The book highlights

V. Walker | Poet

’s struggles with depression, grief, and learning how to love.

Through this you go on a journey alongside V, discovering events which have shaped who she is, and how she connects with the world around. You learn some about the people in her life, some of the abuse she’s gone through, and how all of this has transformed her.

It’s daring to be so vulnerable about the hardship’s you’ve gone through, let alone take it and form into a book for the world to see. But with every piece V. has included in this collection, you know you’re in for a heart-wrenching ride.

There were several pieces in the book that I loved and enjoyed, too. Which I’ll put in a list down below for you to take a look at.

However, V. gave me permission to include an excerpt of one of her poems. So, let’s take a look at that before I get to the list.

father.

We shall give, says father
We may not have a lot of money
But they have no money

We shall give, says father
We may not have nice clothes
But they have no clothes

We shall give, says father
We may not have much food
But they have no food

We shall give, says father
We may not have light
But we can light the path for those in the dark.

This poem is an example of just one of the many, many great pieces I enjoyed throughout reading the book. It is thought provoking, and the repetition from the first line being carried over into every stanza is awe-striking. It is a line that demands your attention.

Also I love the sentiment of this piece’s message. Because it teaches that we should be kind to others, for even if we don’t have much, they may need it. Kindness isn’t about receiving something in return for your act, but the joy in knowing you were able to help someone out.

Below is a list of poems from this book which particularly stood out to me. Each one is unique, emotional, and beautifully written. That’s not to say none of the other poems in this book are those things, just that I felt the most impact from these ones in particular. Everyone is different, and they will feel impacted by different pieces.

Father
I gave you my all
I used to be an optimist
to exist is to cause suffering
ruminations revisited
how death steals life
nightly hauntings
high performer
that first day
the locket in my heart
mysteries of my lover
the only home I miss is you

Every poem listed here were great and fantastic pieces. But I insist you pay attention to the other poems in the book too, because like I said: Everyone is different, and they’ll feel impacted by different things.

Now, before we wrap this review up, I wanna draw your attention to the illustrations in the book. While I won’t be showing you any here, please hear me. Every drawing included aided wonderfully to the emotion and stories conveyed throughout the book.

Fatima Seehar is a talented artist and illustrator, so I wanted to give her a bit of a shout-out in this post.

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I think this is probably a good spot for me to end this post. I could ramble on and on about how great and talented V. is, but for the sake of making a well-contained post, we’ll end things here. If you want to support her writing, make sure to subscribe to her Substack, or buy a copy of her book. My score? 5/5. Would absolutely read again.

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