Is Books Anonymous a Thing?

At this point, I’m definitely an addict.

Back in the day, the author and I used to participate on a music & writing platform and occasionally connected via AIM. I always felt she’d do what she was meant to do with her artwork. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

Stop Telling Women To Smile by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh is a gut punch of a book, and I enjoyed reading it!

I had no doubt that I would. It has the author’s voice, her passion, and the intensity for the importance of the topic at hand shines through each page effortlessly.

The Amazon review is below:

“STWTS Should Be Taught In Sex & Gender Courses.

And I say this, having had my stent in one such class while in college, and if I was assigned this book to read, I probably would have felt as if I learned more.

It is a beautiful thing to be able to see words within pages that perfectly describe what I have felt–still feel sometimes about street harassment and the various interactions I’ve had with men while in public.

It is a VERY real thing and should not be brushed aside or swept under the proverbial rug.

The artwork accompanying the stories helps to drive the power of the words home as well as what every woman, non-binary person, and trans-woman has experienced and how street harassment has shaped their lives. You can see the strain and exhaustion on every face.

It also opens a door to dialogue and the changes men must make for this issue to become a non-issue.

The author/artist did a phenomenal job with this book, and I am happy to have it as a part of my collection and favorite reads.”


Being a Woman: Forthcoming. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

The final book to Michele Lee Sefton‘s Being a Woman project is Forthcoming.

It is the perfect way to complete a series. Out of all three, though, the first book is my favorite. It set the tone for the project and had the most impactful words within it.

Below is my Amazon review:

“Emotionally Charged, Binding Poetry.

In this third offering from the “Being a Woman,” project, “Forthcoming” took what I thought was a completely different turn, but this did not dampen or lessen the strength and depth of the poems shared.

Michele shone a light on the dearly departed, the forgotten, the worried, the weakened, and the powerful in this book.

It was easy to connect with quite a few poems and allow my emotions to get the best of me: I felt something. And I assume that’s exactly what the author wants.

Ending the collection, “Forthcoming” finishes on a high note with its last offering, “Return Home”, which solidifies the book in a huge way, and allows the reader to breathe a sigh of relief.

If you haven’t already made this book one of your own, I suggest that you do, and soon.”


Does anyone else need to attend a Books Anonymous meeting or two or three?!