These poems move through abandonment, jealousy, infidelity, shame, loneliness, numb survival, rage, and finally something like mercy. A daughter speaks to the father who walked away. A woman explains how that absence trained her to beg men to stay. A wife confesses the ways she crossed the line. A mother says, without apology, that the "strong Black woman" costume is killing her.

Nothing here is romanticized. The voice is unfiltered, intimate, and grown: "I needed 'hey princess.' I needed steady hands." The book holds the ache of watching a father give his love to another child, the kind of humiliation that breeds a lifetime of "please don't leave." It sits in the aftermath of being touched, lied to, cheated on, recorded, accused, and used as proof for laughs.

It wrestles with the way soft turns into armor just to make it through the day. But this is not just trauma tourism. This is record-keeping.

Across these pages, a woman names her damage, defends her tenderness, and refuses to carry everybody else's expectations. She speaks to the men in her life, to partners, to the court of public opinion, and to God. She admits the mess and still claims her beauty, her motherhood, her right to rest, her right to softness, her right to be seen without being told to "be strong."

About the Author

Lena Larice is a mother, a storyteller, and a survivor of emotional abandonment who writes in a voice that sounds like the kitchen table at 2 a.m. Her work speaks to women who were forced to be "grown" before they were allowed to be held. She writes about father-wounds, shame, infidelity, motherhood, Black woman exhaustion, and the right to softness without apology.

DADDY ISSUES: Inserts from the Diary of a Broken Woman is her debut poetry collection.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

We first started out as ?The Paperback Exchange,? a chain of physical bookstores where we would part exchange your beloved books for new stories to transport you to faraway places. However, as shopping started to evolve to online shops and marketplaces, we bid our stores goodbye to become ?PBShop.? This transition has only allowed us to blossom as we now ship thousands of titles to book lovers across the globe. We pride ourselves in being a community of local book lovers which allows our passion and devotion to shine in everything we do. In 2020 we not only celebrated our 20th birthday but our 1st birthday as being completely employee owned after becoming an E.O.T in September 2019. We are proud to be different and embrace standing apart on a book mountain by working from a virtual inventory which allows us to provide thousands of books that may be difficult to get for your bookshelf or your studies. Working with a number of different suppliers allows us to explore other avenues such as puzzles, sheet music and even stationery so we really do have something for everyone. Life is about being versatile in all realms of existence. If this is your first visit or you are a returning customer, we would like to welcome you to the PBShop family, for there is no friend as loyal as a book. We are a company who put our customers at the centre of everything we do as we understand the importance of reading because once you learn to read, you will forever be free. There are a whole lot of things in this world of ours that we are yet to explore, which is why we will forever inspire curious minds.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Pbshop.co.uk Ltd
Unit 22 Horcott Industrial Estate, Horcott Road, Fairford, GL7 4BX, United Kingdom

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

Returns Policy
We ask all customers to contact us for authorisation should they wish to return their order. Orders returned without authorisation may not be credited.
If you wish to return, please contact us within 14 days of receiving your order to obtain authorisation.

Returns requested beyond this time will not be authorised.

Our team will provide full instructions on how to return your order and once received our returns department will process your refund.
Please note the cost to return any...

More Information

Shipping Terms

Books are shipped from UK warehouse. Delivery thereafter is between 4 and 14 business days dependant upon your location - please do contact us with any queries you may have.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.

Shipping rates within U.S.A.
Order quantity	7 to 14 business days	7 to 14 business days
First item	US$ 0.00	US$ 0.00

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.