what if your pain was not a dead end,

but a doorway?

In her second collection, poet Sara Escobar invites readers into an intimate journey through the devastation of loss and the quiet resilience that follows. Written for those who know what it means to grieve-and still choose to become-these poems trace a path through sorrow, survival, and the slow return to light.

Structured in six soul-marking stages that mirror the emotional arc of grief, this collection moves through darkness, ache, reckoning, and release, ultimately arriving at something softer, stronger, and whole. Each poem offers a moment of reflection, honesty, and hard-won hope.

ashes & stardust: what comes after is a companion for anyone who has fallen apart and wondered if they would ever feel whole again. It is a reminder that healing is not linear, that becoming is an act of courage, and that even after everything, beauty can still emerge.

you are not what you've lost-

you are what you've survived.