I'll be good is a deeply personal collection of poetry written across the span of illness and recovery. First put to paper during childhood admissions to mental health hospitals, these poems began as fragmented attempts to make sense of my mind.
Living with multiple severe mental health diagnoses, I've written from a place of lived experience, capturing the intensity of feeling too much, not enough, and everything in between.
Part One reflects the chaos of being unwell, the confusion, the pain, the darkness and the need to be understood.
Part Two marks a quiet but powerful shift. Written years later, after time and the slow work of recovery, the voice begins to change. The poetry softens, not because I've forgotten how I survived but because I know how to live now.
I'll be good is not a perfect collection of words. It's about living in darkness and learning how to stay in a world you're desperate to leave behind. The content of this poetry may be emotionally challenging and triggering to some including direct mentioning of self-harm and suicidal ideation. Please refrain from reading if this may concern you. You're wellbeing comes first.