This collection was really great. And, yes. As it happens, I am still an Amanda Lovelace stan. 100%.




"You cannot have a funeral for your mother without also having a funeral for yourself."  This book poses the ever-lingering question: What happens when someone dies before they're able to redeem themselves?

From the bestselling & award-winning poetess, amanda lovelace, comes the finale of her illustrated duology, "things that h(a)unt." In the first installment, to make monsters out of girls,  lovelace explored the memory of being in a toxic romantic relationship. In to drink coffee with a ghost, lovelace unravels the memory of the complicated relationship she had with her now-deceased mother.



Amanda Lovelace does it again. Which is, incidentally, how pretty much every review I've ever written about her poetry starts. So, pretend to be shocked for just a moment. Listen, it's no secret that I'm a massive fan of her works and To Drink Coffee with a Ghost is no less poignant and thought-provoking and utterly raw than any of her other offerings.

I adored it. I consumed it. I sat back with a cup of coffee and a little rain and devoured it. If there is one thing I've learned about modern poetry, it is that there is so much said in so little time. Lovelace's signature is this: emotional impact that will leave you feeling any number of things. At times, there's this raw feeling of devastation and pain. In the good times, you feel the joyous way her words lift from the paper and linger in your mind.

To Drink Coffee with a Ghost is one of her best and most personal releases yet. The capacity to which she feels, and writes, is so intense that sometimes you have to take a moment to yourself and pause to consider what you've just read or felt. This is self-expression at its most biting. This is a life, flawed and all. As it is with all of Lovelace's work, you see the personal growth that she has undergone in the years--it is easy to connect with her prose because she has the gift of reaching out to her readers in a way that feels personal and not unlike a friend conversing with another friend.

The true gift of poetry is being able to express oneself and reach out and touch another. To Drink Coffee with a Ghost is one of those collections that will certainly grip its target audience and then some. Amanda Lovelace proves once again her talent and leaves us anticipating her next collection.