The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur is a heart-wrenchingly cathartic and beautiful book about love and the journey of healing from it. Kaur explores the themes of trauma, loss, vulnerability, and self-love in simple, but unique prose pieces and thoughtful, evocative sketches. The book is divided into five sections- wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming– comparing the progression of the book to the life cycle of a flower.

Her words are deeply intimate and often emotional; she delves into difficult themes- such as womanhood, self-hate, and abusive love- with grace and poise. The approach to poetry shown in this book is unique- Kaur doesn’t utilize flowery language or excessive adjectives to get her point across, but her work is deeply moving nonetheless.

I first came across Kaur’s work when I myself was at a vulnerable point in my life. Her writing spoke to me on not only an emotional, but a spiritual level- the anecdotal nature of each piece makes her feel like a friend or an aunt speaking to you directly, rather than an aloof author miles away. If you are looking for a helping hand or a listening ear, I could not recommend this book more.

Rupi Kaur has also written Milk and Honey, and her new book, Home Body, is set to be released on November 17th, 2020. 

-Vaidehi B.