Release Date: November 14, 2023
Size: 6x9
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-57869-154-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023914338
eBook: 978-1-57869-155-5 (to order the eBook, click here)
Booksellers and Libraries: Order Info Here or with Ingram.

SYNOPSIS

With a hearty dose of humility and humor, Unleashed is a book of diversified poems and drawings primarily taken from a variety of life experiences, traumas, and events that have happened over a lifetime. 

Betty Nadine Thomas writes about love, acceptance of all people, and of course laughter. From dryer lint bunnies to the 1960s Haight-Ashbury scene to spirit guides, her poems are unique, funny, truthful, and pointed. Some are serious, while others are lighthearted. Occasionally controversial and always multidimensional, Unleashed is what happens when “just an old Crone” finds her voice, creativity, and power. 

For fans of poetry and art and readers in the LGTBQ+ communities.

PRAISE

“Betty Nadine Thomas’s lovingly self-illustrated book of poems, Unleashed, takes the reader on a refreshingly profane and irreverent ride along the twists and turns of living life to the fullest. Thomas pulls no punches in this collection, and if you don’t like it she’d say, ‘go fuck yourself,’ and does. That aside, she finds a delicious balance between beautiful profound moments and terrible torments, from which she always provides a retreat through new perspectives. ‘Forget yesterday,’ she writes, ‘it’s gone/ Look forward.’ Digging into the memories of her history, she encourages us to look deeper into our own pasts, and inspires us to uncover the wisdom from there, helping us move with alertness, following ‘the path back into the light.’”

—Buffy Aakaash, author of Untangling the Knots

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“Betty Nadine Thomas’s newest poetry chapbook, Unleashed, is exactly that! Brave, raw, and empowering, her poetry speaks the truth of who she is, and makes no apologies for having done so. Written in simple and direct language, Thomas’s poetry collection ranges from poignant childhood memories, to earlier reflections of what it meant to be a lesbian in an unforgiving world, to thoughts on following her intuition, of lessons learned when we choose to ignore the voice within, and the darker and lighter sides of spirituality. Thomas’s poetry is deeply introspective about herself, the world, and the journey taken to find her place within it. Through Unleashed, Thomas shows us there is freedom to be gained when we finally let go of the expectations of others, and grant ourselves permission to embrace who we are.”

—Nicole Alyssa Gabert, poet and freelance book editor

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“In Unleashed, Betty Nadine Thomas takes us along on her artistic, poetic, and sometimes comical journey to self-realization; from her Betty Wetty maidenhood to the tempered status of Betty Spaghetti, the aged crone develops resilience. She claims to still be ‘fucked up, neurotic and insecure’ but shares the wisdom and strength of purpose gathered along the way in her verses. ‘Don’t miss one second of it. Things change fast.’ Betty echoes the pop culture of 80s icon Ferris Bueller, but she mourns the loss of the rebellious pot culture of the 60s. Betty Nadine Thomas covers a lot of ground in Unleashed, a lifetime indeed.”

—Stephen Kastner, founder of Green Mountain Writers Group and media consultant at DesignWise Studios

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"Her brevity serves as an accompaniment to this poignant and deep burst of wisdom…and after reading it, I found myself going back to listen to it again, like a new favorite song. There's no fluff, not a single wasted word, and not a boring thing about this book."

—Member, LibraryThing.com

Reviews & In The News

Kennebec Journal, December 7, 2023: AUTHOR EVENT: Betty Nadine Thomas

MEET THE AUTHOR