Book Reviews
I gasped, I wept, I laughed. Author Rose Roque is a storyteller of great authenticity. She recounts events of her early life in the Philippines that might have forever silenced someone less determined. Instead, she wields her words to protect and honor the child that was, and the adult that is still being born, as well as her own child, Alexa, to whom she gives a fresh
beginning.
—Norma Blase, Composer, Lyricist, Translator, and Performing Artist
A very unique look at life, and a beautiful way of describing heartache and celebrations.
—Sgt. Thomas Moran, British Army
What I Carried into Bloom was such an intimate, radiant, yet heartbreaking collection of poetry. As a Korean immigrant woman, reading Rose’s poetry made me feel seen, heard, and understood in ways I hadn’t expected. There was something almost surreal about seeing pieces of my own history, family, sacrifice, generational trauma, and unspoken emotions so beautifully woven into words, as though Rose had given a voice to parts of myself I had never quite known how to express. Rose’s journey of unlearning what had been passed down to her and becoming the woman she is today reminded me that we are shaped both in spite of and because of everything we have endured.
—YS Kim, MFT Student
What I Carried into Bloom is an unflinching reflection on life and growth and what happens in between. The feminine strength of her unapologetically autobiographical poems guides the reader into a welcome self-reflective state. Her work is never maudlin, but skirts the borders between an elegiac past and sanguine present. Rose takes you there and back again, without sacrificing the tenderness and forgiveness that allows healing, that allows change. Give way to her tides.
—Joy Marston, Librarian II, Berkeley Public Library
What I Carried into Bloom is a heartfelt exploration of resilience, self-acceptance, and transformation. It is also strengthened by its thematic organization, which creates a meaningful progression from childhood and family history toward boundaries, personal freedom, motherhood, and legacy. The inclusion of Alexa Bruckback’s poems adds another dimension, offering a younger generation’s perspective and reinforcing the book’s central message about
what we carry forward.
Ultimately, It reminds us that while we cannot always choose what life places in our hands, we can choose what we hold on to, what we release, and what we allow to bloom from what remains.
—Aaron Rhodes, Book Formatter & Cover Designer
Written over twenty years, this autobiographical collection illuminates the many “selves” of one woman, and it is remarkable. Rose Roque’s turns of phrase are acute, eloquent, and enchanting as they express loss, desolation, and at times frustration. The range of themes is equally impressive: from childhood, immigration, and poverty to survival, self-knowledge, the body, and art; through romance, desire, and heartbreak; arriving finally at motherhood, adult love, and individuation. These poems are philosophically rich, nakedly personal, and deeply soulful. Reading them, we slow down enough to inhale the beauty of her language, and exhale with a remembrance of the depths of our own souls.
—Justin Amoroso, Philosophy Instructor at Southern Maine Community College