There is no right or wrong way to handle grief, the death of a loved one. Not one thing said or done by anyone will undo the damage or soothe the pain. There is no textbook or DVD that can cure you of your sadness. No magic pill that will make it all go away because it’s human to grieve, to mourn death. Human to feel. No matter how much we wish we couldn’t or pretend we can’t at times. Death effects us all differently.
Today on the blog I am reviewing My Cousin Died (Published 14 July 2019) By Neuwtyn Allison. A big thank you to the author for my copy to review, always appreciated.
My Cousin Died
This is a book about the life and death of three people. One of them is a seven years old girl abandoned by her father. Another is a young boy betrayed by his girlfriend. And the last one is a cold blooded cultist who seeks his father’s death. There’s a lesson to be learnt from the life of each person in the book. From the first person we learn about the role of responsibility that comes with our actions. From the second we learn about the danger that comes with bad relationships. And from the third we learn about the evil that comes with harboring pain and grudge.
About The Author
Neuwtyn Allison is a young man with a passion for art and creativity. His favourite poets are Atticus, Pierre Jeanty and R.M drake, Rupi kaur and others.
My Review
This poetry book tells of the deaths of three very different cousins. Told in three parts, Allison shows the reader his pain and heartache through his poetry. Raw and heartbreaking, Allison’s poetry touches upon the harsh reality of death and the grief that always follows.
Allison’s poetry is oozing with emotion, you can almost feel it dripping off the page. The love and fondness he had for his first cousin Ria causes you to weep profusely as he imagines a future for her that will never be. She was sick and sadly passed away at 7 years old. It breaks your heart as you read how little time she had and was abandoned by her father.
I enjoyed reading Allison’s narrative style throughout his poetry. It was like being inside his head, listening to all his thoughts. He has a vast amount of questions and opinions that lead you into an open discussion. For example he questions whether if Ria’s father hadn’t left, maybe things would have been different and explores the responsibilities that one takes on when you become a parent. Allison goes on to ask if parenting is such a hard job then why do people do it? And comes to the conclusion that it is love. He also asks himself if he could bring up a child, would he run away and be able to live with it? He digs deeper with each answer he finds and explores how life is tough without the proper guidance. That children with an absent parent must suffer a unique kind of pain. He sends a strong, powerful message about how our actions define us, whether we like it or not. It’s hard-hitting stuff that makes you sit up and pay attention.
Upon reading about the second cousin, Jephthah, a more direct and raw tone took affect. We learn of Jephthah’s girlfriend Emma and how she never loved him. She was wild and out of control. At one point Allison catches them in bed and is frozen in shock, describing them like tigers, animals upon each other. Then a missing laptop leads to a shocking discovery, a sudden death and a gunshot. You follow the narrative hopeful for it all to be a misunderstanding but can already feel the fear closing in around you. It’s intense poetry that keeps you gripped and hanging on the edge.
There is such striking brutal imagery within Allison’s poetry. He writes about a rising sun and how it eventually dies when the moon takes over. It’s symbolic and gets the reader to question their own life and relationships. He has a way with words that put things into perspective, giving clarity and meaning to the reader.
The third cousin shows the reader how evil can manifest and take revenge on the innocent. Evans or as he was known in the streets, “The Viper” was a cultist and would take great pleasure in detailing his deeds to Allison.
From the start Allison is blunt and says that he deserved to die, that he was a monster. We follow the events that lead to Evans’ demise and witness a different kind of grief. One of just desserts and the curiosity of what could have been prevented, had Evans’ father taken a different path.
I give My Cousin Died By Neuwtyn Allison a Four out of Five paw rating.
A tragic, traumatic and brutal look at life and death through three cousins. Allison shows us the lessons he’s learned and the pain he’s suffered with each loss. He sends a strong message overall: Pain happens to us all. But it never justifies our wrongs.
This is poetry that comes from the heart and speaks to us all. It is a thought-provoking read and highly relatable to anyone who has ever lost a loved one.
Links
Buy a copy
@Neuwtyn_allison
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