At different times of our lives, many of us suffer some level of sorrow, the pain of heartbreak, and the darkness of our inner, deeply personal thoughts. But as we contemplate these, we learn that we can search within our heart to find the delicate compassion of hope, finally finding joy, passion, and peace. 

The poetry of Linda G. Barrett's Release Me continues to touch the hearts and minds of readers everywhere. Linda eloquently and honestly expresses her own despair, pain, and even anger, but she also shows a longing for and journey toward peace, acceptance, and healing.

The book's pen-and-ink illustrations reflect the mood of the poetry and enhance the reader's experience.
 

Excerpts From
Release Me
By Linda G. Barrett

The Lies of Childhood

The lies of childhood
Stories continue in life
If there is a God
I’ve been forgotten
A life of solitude
Standing within many

Love fleeting
Happiness scarce
Heart broken and bleeding

It hurts to be forgotten
Just wanting to be loved

Madness and Loving to Death

…The thoughts of madness
Growing tired of living a parallel world
Separate, together, separate again
The duplicity continues into madness
Daily actions with words spoken into dead air
I can only see the shadows of people
Great Spirit, the Skulls, the Fire watching me
I’m tired of living in lifelessness
I want to feel
Again
 

I Remember

She catches my scent
And slowly she turns towards me with a smile
As the light glints from her eyes
The memory of her bite flows over me like honey
My senses heighten
Visions wave in and out, over and around me
My passion is instantly painful
But I’m weak with desire
Entangled within the vines in the shadows
Sharp nails slowly move down my back…
 

To experience the Darkness is to know and embrace the Light

Dance barefoot in the rain.
Hug a tree.
Listen to the stillness.
Trust yourself.
You can survive life.