Pieces of Me by Monique Rardin Richardson

Reading Pieces of Me, snippets of memories, of loves, of hopes, of losses, and of dreams, we see a thread of kindness that strings them together like beads. There is healing in these poems such as all art must have, and reading them, a feeling of privilege like being made privy to a sensitive diary.

–Rafael Jesús González, Poet Laureate, Berkeley, California

Pieces of Me reads more like an intimate memoir than a book of poetry, as Rardin Richardson invites us to travel alongside her on a personal journey of love and loss, betrayal and redemption, grief and healing. With meticulously rendered memories spanning decades — from a scared little girl on the playground to a self-loving woman who knows “the time has come” — we are immersed in a world in which this “Radiant Rebel” learns to free herself from the bondage of needing others’ approval and discovers that self-love can be found in the simple act of putting pen to paper.  Her voice is urgent, loving, and full of humanity.

–Jennifer Steinman Sternin, Filmmaker, Founder of Walnut & Rose Pictures

In Pieces of Me, Monique Rardin Richardson reaches deep into the memory of relationships with heartfelt emotion and grace. From tender moments with her abuela (“knowing who I am and what I do I learned from her”), to the despair of a distant father (“still in need of love he couldn’t show”) and a beloved who was like “free-flowing water fierce and unattainable”, she emerges into her own independence. Pieces of Me shines with an honesty that is profoundly human.

–Constance Hanstedt, author of Don’t Leave Yet, How My Mother’s Alzheimer’s Opened My Heart and Treading Water