Burn After Reading - by Jessica Ciencin Henriquez (Hardcover)

About the Book

Burn After Reading is a powerful debut poetry collection by Jessica Ciencin Henriquez that blends traditional verse with erasure poetry.

Book Synopsis

In her powerful debut, Burn After Reading, Jessica Ciencin Henriquez gently peels back the layers of all we hide- grief, shame, suffering, and love. Blending traditional verse with striking erasure poetry, Henriquez plays with form to explore the experiences that connect us-from our deepest fears and unspoken desires to the courage it takes to reclaim what we thought was lost. This collection is an unflinching meditation on what it means to be human. Henriquez moves through each poem, extending a hand to her readers, offering an invitation to embrace the stillness that comes just before awakening. A quiet, tender moment is revealed where the ashes of our past selves are held, honored - not yet healed, but no longer hidden.

Review Quotes

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Henriquez's poetry-a blend of playfully blunt and lyrically profound verses-encircles suffering and renewal with an unyielding resilience. This collection shuns poetic cynicism, instead capturing the beauty and grace that emerge from life's harshest realities."

-Book Life Review, Editor's Pick

"This poetry collection is accessible and relatable...Henriquez soars when writing about tougher topics."

- Kirkus Reviews

"Part scorched earth, part warm embrace, Burn After Reading is powerful, devastating and utterly healing."

-Lyndsay Rush, author of A Bit Much

"Burn After Reading is an offering-- a gifted seat at the table for the yearners, for the lovers, and for those finding their footing amidst it all."

-Joél Leon, author of Everything and Nothing at Once

"Jessica Ciencin Henriquez has created poetry that feels like prayer, and sentences that read like incantations. This book goes down as easily as water but burns like fire.

You will be transported, transfixed, and transformed."

-Reema Zaman, author of I Am Yours and creator of the Memoir Incubator

"Burn After Reading reveals Jessica Ciencin Henriquez's soul laid bare. This poetry collection features grief, loss, pain, change, transformation, and bearing witness to the beauty of life and an uncontainable love for life itself. All in an original, cohesive, playful format which leaves every page a gift for the reader to discover."

-Amara Rethwisch., Netgalley Reviewer

"This poetry collection is heartfelt and willowy. It resonates with the soul of the reader."

-Samantha Reynolds., Librarian

"Burn After Reading captures love in all its forms-raw, imperfect, and enduring. It's ugly love that returns softer, stronger."

-Claudia Sewald, Journalist