Ellie Doe-Demosse
“I chased my dreams until I caught them.
I chased my thoughts until I stopped thinking.
And I chased my heart until I found you.”
-The Dreams on the Line (Excerpt from I Wrote This For You and Only You)
I’ll never forget the day I walked into the bookstore and discovered this book. It was on one summery afternoon, after I was let out for the day from summer school. After taking two different buses to get home, I walked up the front steps only to find out that I had left my keys inside and I was locked out. The worst part was that no one was home, and wouldn’t be for the next two hours.
I considered myself stranded.
Knowing I had some cash on me though, I decided right then and there to head to the bookstore and see if I could pick out any books I was in dire need of. My birthday was coming up soon so I figured that would be a good idea.
After stopping by the Starbucks within the store, I walked down the aisles with shelves full of books; carrying myself towards the poetry section. I sat down on the floor (I didn’t care how dirty it was. I was tired and just wanted to read), crossed my legs and let my eyes scan the shelves for book titles that seemed intriguing.
I came across so many great titles – Lullabies by Lang Leav, Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, Dirty Pretty Things by Michael Faudet, but my eyes stopped on I Wrote This For You And Only You by Pleasefindthis (otherwise known as Iain S. Thomas).
I couldn’t help but take each of the books off of the shelf and find a spot in the corner of the bookstore. Taking a seat on the floor once again, I plugged my earbuds in and listened to Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T’s, as I lightly skimmed the first ten pages of each book.
Needless to say I got lost in all four, but since this is a book review (and not a story of how I found it), I’ll explain how I somehow got lost in the words of I Wrote This For You And Only You.
When I had lightly read through the pages in the bookstore, I was already intrigued by each of the photographs on every page. I’m a huge fan of photography so when I say Jon Ellis is a genius, I mean it.
I admire his work, especially what he contributed to this book. I looked at each picture with awe, admiration, and a twinge of jealousy (since I wish I had that much skill, but sadly it’s a skill I have yet to master).
“Love:
To discover there’s at least one other real person on planet Earth.Loss:
To discover that the aliens, can look just like you.”-The Language of Stars (Excerpt from I Wrote This For You and Only You)
It’s safe to say that I got lost in this book entirely; I fell in love with it. I Wrote This For You and Only You is pure art that I’m glad Iain S. Thomas has decided to share with the world. Although it’s not widely known by a lot of people I, myself, have recommended it to everyone that I know, simply because this book is just amazing.
I think that people who have an obsession with poetry like I do, haven’t truly lived in the world of poetry until you’ve read I Wrote This. The book is just that amazing; it’s a collection of all the emotions you’ve ever felt.
The realization dawned on me that maybe that’s the reason the book got its name; that it was written for us because there’s multiple poems that we can relate to, multiple poems that speak to us more than anything we’ve ever read.
“I need you to understand something. I wrote this for you. I wrote this for you and only you. Everyone else who reads it, doesn’t get it. They may think they get it, but they don’t. This is the sign you’ve been looking for. You were meant to read these words.”
-Synopsis of I Wrote This For You and Only You
I truly do think that I was meant to read every word, on every page; you were meant to read every word on every page, in this book. I recommend that you go to your local bookstore and purchase this book, you won’t regret it.
I Wrote This speaks an incredible amount of truth; it speaks volumes. It makes you feel emotions that you’ve either felt before, you’re currently feeling, or emotions that you didn’t even know you could feel.
While reading this book, I discovered another side of me. I discovered a whole new creative being that I didn’t know existed. And the poems that helped me discover a new side of myself, are currently coated in pink highlighter because not only are they my favourite poems, but they’re the poems that lead me to that discovery.
It’s important to somehow document the poems that have truly touched you; that have made you feel some kind of emotion or guided you to a realization. The poems that I’ve used throughout this review, are examples of some of those moments I’ve encountered, and emotions I’ve felt.
“After you’re gone, people will forget your name, no matter how important it was, and your face, no matter how pretty it was, and what you said, no matter how clever any of it sounded.
The things you’ve done will crumble and fade and the places you once loved, will change and be given new names.
You are only here for one moment and it lasts exactly one lifetime.”
-The Past Keeps Going Away (Excerpt from I Wrote This For You and Only You)
Overall, I Wrote This For You and Only You is a book that you definitely must read. You don’t know what you’re missing out on, until you read it. It’s full of amazing photographs with stories behind them, touching words and poems that are just pure works of art, and emotions that I’m pretty sure we’ve all had an encounter with time and time again.
I’m sorry but I must say that you truly can’t say you lived in the wonderful world of art and poetry, until you’ve gone on the journey that makes up this book.
