Book Review

Between Then and Now

Written by: April Gough

JOHN EDWARDS

MAR 15, 2026

Between Then and Now

Poems

Written by April Gough

This is a Collection of poems from the age of 15 to 39,

My first impression of April’s book was the fantastic cover with the lovely picture of two girls standing by a tree with a small cottage in the distance. The sun is rising over the countryside with birds flying high in the sky. Behind the two girls is a meandering path that indicates that life for April was not a straight forward one to follow. It had many twists and turns before she got to where she is today.

Then there are two small robins sitting either side of the picture on the branches of some plants climbing up the ornate border that surrounds the scene, which in spiritual beliefs as symbols of new beginnings, renewal, and rebirth often appearing to herald the arrival of spring which mostly is in the month of April.

April must have thought hard and precise about this cover, because the sight of robins also indicate that a deceased or previous loved ones are near or watching over you, famously associated with the saying:

“When robins appear, loved ones are near”.

I knew instantly from the cleverly chosen cover that this was going to be a good read, knowing perfectly well that you should not judge a book by its cover.

But this one was exceptional, because on opening the book and turning the pages, that’s exactly what you got. April’s poems are primarily deeply personal narratives focusing on heartbreak, healing, self-reflection, and the complexities of love.

Her words chronicle the emotional arc of relationships, from the euphoria of love to the devastation of breakups and the subsequent growth, often exploring themes of remorse, accountability, and maturity.

Overall, this is a very strong collection of poems that has been written from heartfelt emotions of adolescence to adulthood. Raw Personal Experiences with love, heartbreak, grief, nostalgia, self-reflection, loneliness, pain and tough times.

April’s words often explore the complexities of romantic relationships—from intense passion to devastating split ups-as-well-as maturity, adulthood, and finding strength in vulnerability. While it’s not explicitly a themed book, it does have a clear and coherent structure of love, hate and rebellion and everything else that teenagers go through. This depicts the sensitivity of the author and the trials and tribulations of growing up into adulthood.

The thing I have always thought about poetry, it speaks to who it’s meant to speak to, just like songs, you can make them your own by the way you are feeling when you read or listen to them, and that’s exactly what April ‘cleverly’ does in this collection of poems.

Your attention goes away from the writer, and what she was going through when she wrote them, because when you read them from your own prospective, and how YOU have felt in YOUR past experiences.

This to me is a true gift of a good author or songwriter, The reader or listener can make each one their own poem or song.

It is probably fair to say however that this memory collection of poems will not work for everyone, it may recollect the poet’s struggles that feels a bit too RAZOR BLADE QUALITY, to bring back the past hardships, traumatic experiences, or intense emotional challenges that the poet endured, maybe too much to bear for some people who are already in a nervous disposition or depressed.

But-then-again, ‘Adele’ and ‘Leonard Cohen’ both are my favourite poets, singers, and songwriters that always comforted me when I felt down and out and depressed. They both had this gift that you are not alone by feeling this way when you listened to their songs, or when I read Leonard Cohen’s poems. I think that April Gough is up there with both of these writers of doom and gloom, that can somehow lift you back up when you are down and out.

I love that I could see into April’s mindset and read exactly what she was feeling when she thought out these situations. Her thoughts flowed well, along with the beautiful illustrations that accompanied them, and moved the book along very quickly. April’s distinctive writing is wonderful, she is serious at times, almost suicidal, but also very witty, which makes for an engaging read.

To sum it all up: From the enchanting fairytale illustrations that not only mimic the structure of the beautiful poems, but include some of the wonderful words of the story that flow through the air like whimsical trails of fragrance. April as done a good job of bringing to life her memories of past Love-and-Loss and the intertwined human experiences of deep affection and the subsequent grief following its absence.

You will not be disappointed if you DO buy this book of collection of poems. It can sit nicely on your bookshelf alongside your other books that you can pick up whenever you are feeling unloved or jilted.

By purchasing this book there will always be an element amount of happiness in your sadness, when you choose to pick it up to read it, knowing ‘full well’ that human emotions are felt by everyone, not only YOU, and only then you won’t feel so alone in you’re suffering.

Book Review by: John Edwards, Indie Author of three Psychology books.

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