In her candid-yet-comforting debut poetry collection, Daniella Deutsch reaches out her hand to her fellow 20-somethings, holding them through the shocking and freeing realizations of a grueling decade. There is no escaping the magical and unsettling moments that fill up the 20s, yet Deutsch presents them with a raw, sensual, and nostalgic energy. Whether weeping from heartbreak on the bathroom floor or wandering the streets alone at night, searching for a sign, Deutsch guides her readers through this decade of deep loneliness by coupling it with inexplicable and beautiful transformation. More so, she acknowledges how the process of exploration and growth is never truly finished.

all the things my mother never told me has a purposeful, natural, and breathtaking arc, reminding readers to be gentle to their bodies and to trust their minds, all while powerfully confessing that we all know very little. Alongside Lisa Jean Moran's simple yet spiritual artwork, Deutsch tackles the unanswerable questions by embracing them, proving that chaos has no better friend than patience.