Break Up. Break Down. Break Through. is a must-read for anyone who has loved and lost. Geoff Olds makes himself entirely vulnerable in this raw articulation of his journey from rock bottom to rebirth. Powerful, honest and necessarily confronting, this collection of poems and musings will lead you on your own path to self-betterment.
From page one, Geoff Olds manages to bleed onto the paper in a way that is both powerful and poetic. You'll journey with him through his darkest moments; witnessing his battle with hedonism, rejection, divorce and depression. Then, hold your breath as he fearlessly fights to rise from the ashes.
His willingness to blazingly share it all - his grief, shame, despair and self-deprecation - will leave you feeling both uncomfortable and unable to put the book down. Geoff Olds manages to share every crevasse of his suffering. And, as you read his collection of poems and musings, you get a sense you're reading from his personal diary.
Prepare to be provoked by a book that will stir many things in you: sadness, shock, sympathy and self-reflection. Part one 'Break Up' will undoubtedly hit home for anyone who has experienced the collapse of a relationship. With heavy words and heaving pages, Geoff Olds pours out his lament without holding back. The depth of grief that he shares will leave you pausing for breath after each page.
Then, in part two 'Break Down', Geoff Olds wrestles with his inner demons. Held under the weight of self-loathing and self-destruction, Geoff invites you to be privy to his deepest and darkest moments. It's in these pages that you realise Geoff Olds isn't just a brilliant poet, but a brilliant mind. He dissects his consciousness in a way that many people wouldn't be capable of (or fearless enough to); and articulates it in a masterful, tangible way.
By the time you reach part three, 'Break Through', it becomes clear how necessarily vivid the former verses needed to be. After experiencing the depth of his agony, his rebirth is made eminently more powerful. Here, in these moments of redemption, Geoff Olds shifts his tone from confronting to cathartic. It's a shining message of hope, hard work and hanging on no matter what - and it will resonate with anyone who has suffered.
As a successful entrepreneur and advocate for men's mental health, it's no wonder that Geoff Olds is so equipped to tell this story. The reader is forced to open themselves up and prepare for their own personal journey of reconciliation. The sheer brilliance of Break Up. Break Down. Break Through. is its ability to catalyst a 'phoenix rising from the ashes' moment in anyone.
