Child of the Moon

If you have survived childhood trauma from abusive and neglectful parents and wish to understand your own stories deeper while finding sisterhood with another survivor, this is a book of poetry for you.If you wish to better understand the struggles and heart-wrenching stumbling journey to recovery for victims of abuse, this is a book of poetry for you.If you are looking to gain empathy into the condition of humans with struggles you have not experienced and to understand how those experiences might impact their lives and thoughts in life, this is a book of poetry for you.If you realize you have harmed someone else and wonder about how their journey has been impacted or have a child who tells you that you were abusive of them, this is a book of poetry for you so you can learn and understand.If you enjoy poetry and reflections on struggle and how to heal and remake one's self...If you enjoy emotional vulnerability and people being brave enough to take off their masks and show their scars...If you are looking for something that a client with trauma can read and relate to and gain insight and hope...This is the book of poetry for you, for them, for us all.It's beautiful. It may cause you cry or weep. It will teach you a few things about pain, abuse, and trauma. It may open your mind to a new perspective or view of others. It may help you to heal wounds from your own past, perhaps those you did not understand until now. You will likely find some way to relate to these writings.And you will likely walk away forever touched, changed, and/or impacted by these poems.I invite you to read, as I did, and allow the words to help you realize that whatever you are facing in life, you are not alone.Welcome to humanity.Beautiful trauma. So hard to overcome. So difficult to step out of the fear it creates. But what lovely art comes from it when the heart and soul manage to confront and face the wounds of the soul.My deepest thanks to Jessica Semaan for daring to bare her soul for us to feel and relate to her experiences. This is a masterpiece of thoughts and beauty from pain. I am grateful to have been so blessed to have found and read it. Thank you.

I found this book to be very real and raw, beautiful and honest. By touching her particular journey with such courage and transparency, Jessica Semaan manages to do what all great art does - transcend its own story and touch into universal themes. That is my favorite thing about the possibility of art. Ms. Semaan also uses the alchemy of art to dive deep into her own pain and wounds and through the shining of light upon them, beauty is revealed, and an opportunity for healing for others is created. This is also a wonderful book from a cultural perspective in that shows what it is like to grow up as a child during a Civil War in Lebanon. I hope all who come across this book will give it a good read. By reading it with openness and presence, I'm sure you will be moved, touched, and maybe just find yourself a kindred spirit with this Child of the Moon.

I've been following Jessica's poetry since she began writing on Medium. Her work is unique in that she captures so many emotions that I've felt, but have never put words to. She puts words to the darkness and gives a language to think of my own journey.The poetry in Child of the Moon follow a chronological journey from her birth in Lebanon to her current life. Her healing journey is mirrored by the metaphor of the moon, and the chapters are named accordingly. I found this metaphor to be very powerful, and I'm sure many readers can learn that they too are children of the moon, and find comfort in that symbol.The book itself is beautifully printed, with a gold foil cover and thought-provoking color illustrations throughout.Highly recommended for all you Feelers, Empaths and Healers out there. May her words make you feel less alone.

This is a book I can relate to. It's the first time I read an account of personal trauma interwoven in between lines of melting poetry and illustrations. The book has several layers, from the author's experience with specific people in her life, to the impact war (environment where she grew up) had on her and her family, to the processing and realizations she had over the course of her adult life in the US. The book took me from the inside of her mind and her gut to the heat of the desert and the crisp California summer night sky. Visions of pain intersect with dreamlike descriptions of an evolving consciousness. This is a painful account of difficult life experience, where I can recognize myself, empathize with the pain and be exhilarated by the findings.

This book transports you to far away lands and more deeply into yourself at the same time. Semaan writes in a way that profoundly touches the reader- vivid imagery, visceral emotions- poetically beautiful.My favorite part of her work is the metaphor of the moon throughout her story, and how the moon was always there for her. Semaan successful wove this metaphor and her experiences throughout the work in a way that really held the text as one story. She rekindled my own sense of spirituality and healing. This poetry book is both necessary and relevant to the challenges many of us face in society today, and I am glad it is available to those of us who need another companion on our journeys to find our own healing.

I have been following Jessica's writing and poetry for some time now as she has been featured multiple times on the Medium front page. Her poems are very expressive, and strongly characterized by past trauma that is being processed in her works. Some resonate strongly with me, others were poems I just enjoyed reading and fantasizing about, even if I couldn't personally relate to them. I consider this book a great gift idea to someone who enjoys poetry. Jessica's writing reflect a beautiful yet vulnerable soul that has gone through a lot and has the talent to express herself in words that resonate with many people. The illustrations aren't necessarily my style, but they go well with the overall writing and poetry.

I felt like Jessica Semaan took me on a journey into her heart and my own. Her words resonated so deeply with me and hit me in such a powerful way. I would recommend this to anyone on a journey of healing and recovering from trauma- one of the most powerful poetry books I’ve read!!! ❤️❤️❤️