Healing the Heart (Pillow Thoughts #2)
Published August 7th 2018 by Andrews McMeel Publishing, Paperback 224 pages
Following the smash success of her best-selling book, Pillow Thoughts, Courtney Peppernell now returns with the follow-up sequel Pillow Thoughts II: Healing the Heart.
Peppernell understands that healing is a process, and Pillow Thoughts II eloquently captures the time and experience that one goes through on their journey to peace through restoration.
A collection of inspirational and comforting poems for anyone who is mending from a broken heart.
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
You have every right to love your solitude
Being alone doesn’t always mean you are lonely
Thank you Netgalley and Andrews McMeel publishing for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Another wonderful poetry book! This was the first book I read by Courtney Peppernell and I loved it! I could relate to a lot of the poems that she wrote. Poems about love and hope and healing. I can't wait for everyone to read this when it's released!
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Rating: really liked it
3.5/5 stars
The title of this is so fitting!
It's free verse "poetry", yes. But I appreciated it for what it was: just pillow thoughts. It reminded me a lot of the good ol' high school days when you'd be having problems with your boyfriend/girlfriend so you'd invite over your best friend for a sleepover, sit on your bed and vent to them, and they would just always know the right things to say.
My favorite poem:Love isn't always about falling in love with a person. Love is
passing your final exams. Love is watching the sun come up
between the clouds. Love is finding the light when you were
in the dark. Love is when your favorite TV show returns. Love
is when your dog tilts its heads with confusion. Love is a free
ice cream voucher left on your car windshield. Love is the
leaves falling in the fall. Love is learning the constellations.
Love is solving a ridiculous math problem. Love is the
changing Starbucks menu for the seasons. Love is watching
a child play in the sandbox. Love is warm clothes when they
comes out of the dryer. When you've given up on love,
all you're really saying is that you've closed your eyes.I felt good after reading this book, and I think if you pick this one up, you will too!
In stores on August 7th 2018!Thanks a million to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. Quotes are subject to change upon publication.
Rating: really liked it
While I love the premise of this collection and the idea of the jellyfish, I had a hard time connecting with 80% of the poems in this collection. The poems I didn't connect with tended to be more surface level and have a more cliche quality than the deeper, more meaningful poems.
Rating: really liked it
You have every right to love your solitude
Being alone doesn’t always mean you are lonely The biggest thing I feel, is that in order to enjoy most poetry the reader has to find a way to relate to it. I personally found this highly relatable, and beautiful.
I picked this book up because I thought the cover was great. I know, I know- “don’t judge a book by its cover”. I sure am glad I did though, because this was a great an heartwarming read. The author connected me to so many of my own pillow thoughts. It felt nice to know I’m not alone.
Rating: really liked it
3.5 STARS❤️🩹
This is the second poetry book in the
Pillow Thoughts series, and I literally read it within 45 minutes! Such a fun, enjoyable, and easy read.
Personally, I liked this book’s layout less, but I enjoyed the message behind the poems in this more, compared to the first. Nonetheless, they’re both super good poetry collections, and I would definitely suggest giving them a try.
This book focuses on healing the heart, soul, body, and mind. This is an essential thing to do whenever you feel heartbroken or unhappy, and the book emphasizes this very well.
The book is split up into five sections: (1) If your heart is in love (2) If your heart is aching (3) If your heart is missing someone (4) If your heart is happy (5) These are for your heart
The poems perfectly describe the idea that we won’t be happy everyday, every second - however, it is important that we tough it out because happy times will be coming inevitably.
Here’s a sneak peak at one of the poems for you:
“I’m tired of all the texting
Of all the late-night calls
I’m tired of the constant
Wanting
And time feeling like walls
I need your breath on my skin
Your body asleep next to mine
I can’t keep pretending I don’t miss you
And that I’m fine
I see home in your eyes
But home is so far away” Once again, I could really relate to a lot of the book, but even if I couldn’t - it allowed me to see things from other people’s perspective, which is something that I am always grateful for!!
If you are a poetry junkie like me, PLEASE check out this author and their work, you will not be disappointed! x
Rating: really liked it
Not as good as the first one
Rating: really liked it
3.7.2022 exactly what I needed right now
Rating: really liked it
Pillow Thoughts II: Healthing the Heart is a mediocre piece of writing at best. And trust me, I'm being generous here. I picked it up thinking it's going to be this deep thoughtful piece of poetry or thoughts, however you want to call it, instead I was left with the most basic, cliché, and nonsense book of 2020 for me.
I'll give you an example:
As tragic as it seems
As hurtful as it feels
If they gave up on you
In your worst moment
They never really loved you Yes, this was part of the book and the other 95% of it. Where have you read this before? That if they don't stick with you at your worst, then don't deserve you at your best? Probably in grade 8 or something like that. It was thoughts like these that anyone could've written or said and we would've rolled our eyes and moved on.
I was fairly shocked that the ratings of this book were quite high. All I can think of is HOW? Honestly the whole book was so basic. Every line sounded exactly like something you would read on sites like reddit or images on Google that have inspirational thoughts but no author because anyone and I mean ANYONE could've said it.
This book lacked originality. I'll give you another example:
You can break your own heart
But you can also heal it Well no sh!t. I think we all know that, don't we? It's like saying
you can may die today, but you may also live. How is that considered anything but a cliché with no thought put into it whatsoever.
Overall this was a waste of time. Nothing was original. I enjoyed probably 5% of it and even that was because I felt I needed to hear the words as cliché as they sounded. I could've read them anywhere. I definitely would not recommend this book to anyone.
Rating: really liked it
Amazing as always Courtney who has been and out of love that had seem to only exist in your mind has an amazing way with words. How to cherish the small things, no need for one big memories but small bits. Knowing that love comes and goes. How to find happiness again and keep it when there’s no light. Forgiveness to yourself and others. It doesn’t focus on one emotion but all of any stage of love.
Rating: really liked it
I read Pillow Thoughts and found it lack luster. Despite that, I picked up Pillow Thoughts II and was even more let down than the first collection. There were a couple I "liked" but ninety percent were regurgitated quotes and pages merely stating things with a terribly cliche recurring theme. Wouldn't really classify as poetry/prose. There was nothing deep, nothing to connect to or feel.
Rating: really liked it
Reread 2022
"Sometimes I worry that,I won't find someone. That the person who deserves all this love I have to give is out there with someone else...
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read:2021
"Some chapters don't have happy endings. But you read on anyway,and I think that's the point. Not to be happy all the time but to know the sun always comes back around "
3.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
The proses are too relatable to me that I love and enjoy it.
Rating: really liked it
2/5
Pillow Thoughts II: Healing the Heart is focused primarily on what it sounds like:
love.This collection is separated out into five sections that correspond to a specific circumstance that is related to love. Many of the “poems” felt far more like anecdotes, sometimes only sentences of encouragement. Considering this book is supposed to be aimed at broken hearts, it really didn’t seem to meet those criteria. Instead, it felt like a personal journal of the authors' relationships, good and bad and they just didn’t feel meaningful, hard-hitting, or thoughtful; there’s nothing more I can say than that.
Rating: really liked it
If you are (or ever have) suffered from a broken heart, then Courtney Peppernell’s Healing the Heart will likely have something to offer. While much of Peppernell’s mourning and grief is centered on romantic loss, I found her emotional processing to have a more-or-less universal relevance on how to heal from many forms of heart-break.
Overall, this collection of poetry is pretty interesting. Peppernell is really great at writing lyrical prose that reads like the words of a love song you could hear in a number of different genres. I am always impressed by how this type of accessibility leads to a larger form of resonance. It is worth noting though, that much of what is written is fairly obvious. For instance:
“Sometimes we fall in love with someone's potential. We ignore their behavior because we believe they can be better. But a person does not change unless they want to. Your happiness is more important than hanging on to someone else's potential.”That said, while I have almost certainly heard and read sentiments similar to this before, these words are nonetheless exactly what I needed to read, when I needed to read it, and presented in a style that I found to be impactful. So if you are looking for a poetry collection in this vein, then I do definitely recommend this book.
Rating:
3.5 stars
Rating: really liked it
One of the best I've read so far. Everything felt so close to heart. Will probably reread from time to time. Here are some of my favourites:
Until you’re older and you’ve discovered even bones can ache and not everyone will give you a second chance. So, you’ll stare into an empty bottle and wish life were as simple as a high school dance..
.
You have sleepless nights and thoughts pushing you to the limit. Because heartbreak can also mean a broken spirit..
.
Don’t waste your time with people who bring you down. Bitterness is a disease that gets the better of most people, but that doesn’t mean you need to tolerate it. You have flaws just like anybody else. Embrace them, live for them. There is only one you. Forgiveness is happiness. They walk hand in hand. You don’t have to forgive everyone in your life. But you do have to forgive yourself..
.
You will wonder why someone as passionate as you is going nowhere. But you are going somewhere. Every setback is part of the journey..
.
In these moments, I am more than I ever thought I could be. I am more than a dream, more than the moon. I am the universe, and every possibility belongs to me.
