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One Year of My Debut Poetry Book ‘If I Bare My Soul’!

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One year ago today, I took a leap of faith (no pun intended), and released my first-ever book. It was something that had always been this distant dream of mine, but one that seemed like so far-fetched of an idea. However when I found self-publishing, I was finally able to officially pursue this project last January. By July, I had a complete collection of poems and strings of stories woven together straight from my heart.

July 10th, 2024, a day that was supposed to be marked by excitement and self-fulfillment, instead had a dark cloud looming overhead. By this day, it had already been three days since myself and many of others in my whole city had been without electricity. Though I was briefly able to find just enough cell service to share my project, by then every place around me that once looked so full of life, seemingly turned into a ghost town. I spent many sleepless nights in a car, in the thick of summer’s heat, just praying to get out of this testing time as I’d deliriously watch the rise and fall of the sun. It wouldn’t be until two days later that I’d be able to celebrate my debut book having been published.

Fast forward a year later, as I observe all the lives affected by the recent devastating floods in my home state of Texas, I’m reminded of my gratitude for life. While my journey as a self-published author didn’t begin as planned, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I know now that we  can have all these things in our lives meticulously planned out the way we’d hope for them to go, but these expectations might never come to fruition precisely as such, and we have to be accept with that. 

When I say I poured my all into this project, I truly mean it. Admittedly, I haven’t found the words to say (or write), since I spilled my entire soul on those pages bound in this book. It’s a tough feeling, that maybe this book is all I had in me, that I’ve got nothing left to say. Still, I continue to seek inspiration everywhere. I’ve learned to never force art, but to let creativity find me. So while it may seem like I’m achieving nothing in this period of stillness, I am giving myself this time to soak up life like a sponge, to examine the world’s stories, in order to authentically create as I feel the passion to do so. This is only the beginning of my story and I can’t wait to find out what’s next for me.

I want to express my deepest appreciation to anyone who has ever supported me along the way in this journey I’m on as a writer. To any and all family members, friends, or strangers that have purchased my book, I could never thank you enough. To me, this book wasn’t about the performance or numbers, but simply about having a physical representation of my passion for written expression. This was to prove to nobody but myself, that I can set upon anything I put my mind to, and that if my art should speak to anyone else in the world, then it will shall its way to the right people. 

Happy one year of If I Bare My Soul!

✍🏻📖🫀

Introducing My Debut SeIf-Published Poetry Book!: ‘If I Bare My Soul’ Out NOW Only on Amazon

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It’s always been a dream of mine to write a book. I’ve been told numerous times “You have such a unique story to tell! You should write a book!” and for a while that was hard for me to grasp because, to me, I’ve always just felt like your average girl, that just so happens to have been born with a disability. I always seem to revert back to this idea of, who cares what I have to say? So though I had this dream within me, I never thought I had anything interesting enough to say. 

But the more I shared my writings on social media and received supportive feedback, the more I fell in love with it and gained confidence in my creative skills. Though it wasn’t actually until I confided in my best friend about this hesitancy I’d felt and she told me “I think all creatives have this when they’re on the brink of something good, it just means you care!,” that I truly felt like maybe she was right, that maybe I just needed to go for it.

Many years into my writing career, I was starting to feel discouraged because I wasn’t receiving the opportunities that I once believed would come easily, so I came to this realization that if I wanted to accomplish this dream of mine, I’d have to take matters into my own hands. And so, at the beginning of this year I set intentions for myself that by summertime I would self-publish a book. It was more than a goal, but a promise I intended to keep to myself. Finally on July 10th, I did just that, and published my debut poetry book.

Not even a power outage could take away my joy in sharing my debut book with the world!

This book is a mix of raw honest narratives from my perspective, not only as a young woman trying to navigate life but as a proud person with a disability, as well as some fictional creative writing pieces. Because I find inspiration everywhere—in the falling autumn leaves, under the warmth of the scorching summer sun, in every melody of music I listen to—and everything I create, even fictional, is a piece of my soul that I am giving away.

This book is about getting to know myself and finding my true calling through the artistic outlet of written expression. It’s about navigating the chaos of life in your teenage years and your early twenties, about womanhood, and overcoming adversity. It’s about the great value I place on all the relationships I’m lucky enough to have in my life—the only type of relationships I’ve ever known up to this point in my life—my loving family and my cherished friendships. It’s about being human, one who has both good and bad days, and about self-love.

This book is for those that look like me, who can relate to my life experiences as a person with a disability. It’s for those that share with me an appreciation for literature, who like to get lost in storytelling and live vicariously through dream worlds with fictional characters. It is for all my fellow chronically single hopeless romantics and for the empaths, those who see the beauty in the natural world—in life and in every human connection on this planet.

This is by far the scariest, most vulnerable thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I’m ecstatic to share my first project of hopefully many more to come in the future. So, I guess all there’s left to say is: If I bare my soul, will you listen?

— faith maria

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Purchase my poetry book If I Bare My Soul: a collection of poetry & prose in both paperback and hardcover form, available NOW only on Amazon!

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@ _f.m.writes to never miss any of my future writing endeavors!