“In 1953, we began naming hurricanes so we could remember them beyond the wreckage. So we could try and make sense of the destruction. This is the way I remember you.”

Despite love being a difficult topic for many poets to successfully put into words, writer Lang Leav remembers, reflects, and tackles it in her book of poems, Memories. Leav describes her poetry and prose novel as a “book that is enduring, one that could be kept as a keepsake or given to someone special in your life.” While I agree with her statement, I choose to describe Leav’s book also as a moving piece of work that can unearth feelings of yearning for love in anyone’s heart.

Written with a soft sort of harshness, Memories is a contemplation of poetry and prose from her other novels, Love & Misadventure and Lullabies, along with 35 new poems for devoted, long-time fans to uncover.

Given the fact that her work is poetry, a general appreciation for poetry itself is needed to thoroughly enjoy this novel.

Each poem alludes to differing, yet all relatable stages of romance. Lang Leav focuses on her own experiences in love, ranging from both the flurried feeling of two new lovers, to the shattering solitude of broken relationships. While I greatly enjoyed and respect Leav’s poems, I found that at times her continuous writings of the throes of young love to be a bit repetitive. In order to fully admire Leav’s poems for what they are, I find that it is necessary to read her novel in increments instead of one sitting.

Otherwise, it may seem that because of the common theme of love each poem carries, each is no different from the others; when in reality, no two poems are the same. Each poem is spoken with such passion, and each is given its own vivid characteristics and identity.

Overall, with a general appreciation for the beauty poetry holds, Memories is a striking novel fit for any hopeless romantic.