Falling Back In Love With Being Human by Kai Cheng Thom

“i’m not a praying woman, but poetry has always been my hotline to the universe. i guess that somewhere deep inside, i hoped that if i said something elegantly enough, it would come true.“

This book brought me so much peace. 💖

Falling Back In Love With Being Human is a collection of letters, poems, and everything in-between. Letters to all of those who hurt her, who harmed her, or who simply didn't stand up to help her. Forgiveness is healing, forgiveness is power.

Do you ever find yourself talking out loud to the book you’re reading? I kept stopping to take a deep breath and say “oh my god” to the pages. Reading this, I felt seen? So much in these beautiful letters is relatable to the essence of the human spirit.

As the author is a Chinese transgender woman, there is, of course, much that my cisgender white self cannot relate to. What she does beautiful is write about her experiences while tapping into deeper emotional connections. How did it feel? Why is this difficult? Why do we allow pain? How are we processing it?

These poems address identity, sexuality, mental health, religion, feminism, and all of the intersections between them with love.

& then, the space between each letter is broken with a task - maybe a writing prompt or a ritual to perform - that pulls you back to the present.

This is a beautiful book for anyone.
This is a powerful work of representation for transfeminine folks.
This is beautiful poetry.
This is beautiful education.
There is real work to do between these pages.

Reading this was a beautiful experience and Kai Cheng Thom has a gift. ❤️