How To Be Books

Self-Portrait A Study of Irises

Inspired by Van Gogh’s Irises, painted during his time at Saint-Rémy. The poem reflects on the body as another kind of study.

CW: self-harm, mental health.

open.substack.com/pub/suswatib...

#poetry #mentalhealth #VanGogh

An homage to witches A survival spell

Well, it wouldn’t be Halloween if we didn’t have something related to the season. But I’ve been thinking about the idea of witches for a while and what women have endured for centuries when accused.

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#poetry #Halloween #Witches

The Morning After The echo left behind

Inspired by the strength of Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, Nobody’s Girl. There's a content warning with this as a result.

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#poetry #trauma #mentalhealth #virginiagiuffre

Someone I used to know Fragments from another life

I came across my old journals from more than ten years ago, and they read like some kind of Shakespearean tragedy. But it got me thinking about alternate realities.

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#poetry #mentalhealth #trauma

Hit-and-run Collision with no recovery

Another short poem to untangle something in my head. Apologies, as always, for the lack of filter.

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#poetry #MentalHealth

Whose peace? Verses from the Ministry

A short poem in response to our current climate, with a subtle nod to a classic dystopian novel. This has a content warning related to war and state violence.

open.substack.com/pub/suswatib...

#poetry #Gaza #peace

The devil makes work for idle thumbs Finding pleasure in the pain

Following on from a previous essay on the meaning of life, this is another dark aspect of living with a strange condition. There's another trigger warning with this.

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#mentalhealth #writing #trauma #essay

An ode to nicotine A love affair with tar

As a former long-term smoker, I find that the cravings never really go away...

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#poetry #poem #addiction

I have no more vices Notes from the underground

Sometimes, not having vices is its own kind of special hell.

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#poetry #MentalHealth #Addiction

What's a few 'cults' between friends Avoiding the Kool-Aid

After questioning whether online friends are real friends, I found myself wondering: can we also get trapped in the rabbit hole of obsessive groupthink?

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#essay #writing #culture #cults #society

I’ve never understood the meaning of life On the other side of the glass

This is a much darker, far more personal essay than my recent ones about what it’s like to leave your body in order to survive and never be able to return to it. 

Trigger warnings with this one.

open.substack.com/pub/suswatib...

#essay #mentalhealth #writing #trauma

Thoughts and prayers Your silence is the killer

As a journalist, I faced the dreadful task of reporting on the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, which still leaves me shaken. After seeing the words ‘thoughts and prayers’ once more, it set off an avalanche of emotions.

open.substack.com/pub/suswatib...

#poetry #ThoughtsAndPrayers #GunViolence

Are we really (online) friends? Or is it just in our heads?

As I’ve been writing a lot about friendships, the internet, and AI, this seemed like the next logical thinking point.

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#writing #essay #ai #technology #friendship

Looking forward to using dictionaries next week as I apparently further corrupt my students.

Black Mountain A living landscape

This prompt was suggested by a fellow Substacker this week, hence I wanted to take a different approach to this and write something up quickly! This is inspired by having recurrent dreams with this theme.

#poetry #climate #nature
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Normal? Out of the frame

I feel this poem may resonate with many who have chased an illusion, only to realise it was not what they wanted. It was a reaction to societal expectations.

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#poetry #MentalHealth

Who the hell trusts the internet anymore Drowning in digital bullshit

Warning: there’s a bit of swearing in this. It’s hard to avoid given the subject. I wrote it in response to being confronted by someone impersonating another author on Substack.

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#essay #writing #misinformation #socialmedia #fakenews

I had dinner with five strangers In search of a tribe

Many people feel ashamed to admit that they’re lonely - I’m one of them. Perhaps it’s alright to find adulting a bit of a challenge.

#essay #MentalHealth #Loneliness #friendship

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Aftertaste The body keeps the score

This story is inspired by two horror-based writing prompts, which are explained at the end of the text.

Trigger warning: Grief, parental loss, supernatural themes, disordered eating, and graphic descriptions of physical deterioration.
#horror #trauma #writing
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Train wreck Living inside a body that feels unsolvable

I tried my hand at writing a personal essay here for the first time. It seems I can’t do abstract, philosophical meanderings. I’ve held off writing this for a while.

Trigger warning: Eating disorders, #weightloss, and body image.
#disability #mentalhealth

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Mega-purgatory Mass in-carnation

The words of a particular article stood out to me today. The italicised words in this poem are drawn from both actual dialogue and paraphrased communications used in the article. Another piece with trigger warnings.

#poetry #Trump #deportations

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Case Number 010004 The missing woman: Susan Roberts, 23.

This was inspired by a fellow Substacker's August writing challenge. The prompt is explained at the end of the text.

#CreativeWriting #Writing #Horror

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It Happens The manufacturing of apathy

I've been speaking about rage in recent times. I was fortunate enough to have my friend record this incredible audio to accompany this.

Trigger warning: References to war, violence, and human suffering

#poetry #Gaza

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The Quiet Meal A strange kind of day

As part of a challenge, we were asked to write about the darker parts of people. I’ve attempted to do a slightly different take on the theme, mentioned at the bottom of the story.

#CreativeWriting #Story

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Body Horror The violence of standards

I've been thinking about body horror recently, especially with the growing number of films in this genre. I realised that society’s expectations of people are truly terrifying.

Trigger warnings for this one, as you can imagine.

#poetry #horror #dysmorphia

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I am not your Lilith A distorted myth

Lilith is often depicted as Adam's first wife, who refused to be subservient. Trigger warning: sexual manipulation.

#poetry #vawg

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Detachment The architecture of attachment

I’ve been thinking a lot about attachment styles and how the way we were loved (or not) as kids shapes how we show up in relationships as adults. From anxious and avoidant, to disorganised and secure - do you identify with any of these?

#mentalHealth #poetry

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The Vanishing A sort of ghost story

It's been a while since I wrote a story. This tale is based on actual events (well, in some places). I wanted to describe what it’s like to be a wheelchair user for some people.

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#disability #storytelling #writing

Flowers by the seaside A meditation on loss

There’s nothing quite like walking alone, soaking in the world around you. Sometimes the things we notice are bittersweet.

open.substack.com/pub/suswatib...

#poetry #mentalhealth #grief #loss #bereavement

Heavy Weight Just take a moment.

Sometimes, we experience an immense feeling of suffocation from unprocessed grief. I’ve tried to capture that here, and I hope it’s something others can relate to.

#mentalhealth #poetry
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