Abby Andrews

Woman walking home is my first collection of poetry. It tells my story of being a woman working with a pen to find the way back to the one and true home within myself. In the beginning the poetry is more of an exploration of the natural world and wonder at the experiences of being human. These poems were my doorway in, the way I began to crack open and turn slowly towards myself. As the book progresses, the poetry grows closer to my heart and truth, and the deepening begins to occur. Steadily, they become more embodied, more true to my voice and personal style and begin to close the gap on vulnerability. One might wonder why I would publish the earlier works if I admit to their lack of depth and personal truth, the answer is that I believe the journey is the most important part. It is where we spend most of our time, we are rarely basking in the glow of a flat spot. I also believe that the poems are beautiful in their curiosity and desire to become something.

We are all on our own journey of walking home to ourselves, a long and sometimes painful process of undoing the damage wrought on our psyches by collective systems and ideals. Most women go through a process of abandoning ourselves in our adolescence and a great remembering as we gain wisdom and come to a place of knowing and loving ourselves as we really are. Rediscovering what brings us joy, reclaiming our sexuality, burning off shame and guilt, turning our eyes toward beauty. It is a path we can always choose, no matter our age or lived experience. By allowing readers in to see me at all of the stops along the way of my own journey, I am meeting others that are haunting that same watering hole in their own lives.

As much as I wish the journey did have an end point, it really doesn’t. The woman walking home will come to discover that once she crosses into the threshold of the home within, that there are cobwebs on the windows and cold ash in the hearth. A new journey begins, as it always will at the end of another. For now, at least, it is good to be home.