Daniell Koepke is the author behind the Internal Acceptance Movement (I. A.M.). In her first poetry collection, Daniell gives voice to the fear and anxiety, as well as the perseverance and strength, that has been fundamental to her own personal growth journey and the path to deeper and more meaningful self-love and acceptance. In her own words, this book is for “the 17-year-old Daniell who was convinced she was worthless; who was convinced she would never survive or amount to anything. This is for the friends and family who never stopped believing in and supporting her. This is for all the people who feel that they have to shrink and hide who they are in order to be loved and accepted and worth something. This is for anyone who needs a reminder that you deserve to take up space in the world and that you are enough.”

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Thank you so much to Thought Catalog Books for providing me a copy of Daring To Take Up Space.

As someone with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), I’m always on the lookout for self-improvement literature. After discovering Koepke’s a fourth-year psychology doctorate student and a therapist, it’s no surprise her words reach such a deep and cognitive level. Her poetry’s immensely therapeutic and cathartic, helping alleviate the loudness of my thoughts and the depth of my anxiety after reading a couple of poems; it literally felt like going to one of my therapy sessions.

I really enjoyed how intimate Koepke’s works felt due to the use of free verse poetry; it makes you feel like the poems are for you and you alone. However, due to the lack of any poetic structure or tools (i.e. symbolism), the poems sometimes felt more like a TedTalk or self-help guide book rather than poetry.

Many topics and themes are explored, including but not limited to anxiety, boundaries, depression, fitting in, self-confidence, self-control, and acceptance. The entire collection just flows beautifully, moving from one topic to the next naturally. It does get a little repetitive, but I also think that’s the point. The more certain points are repeating, the more you remember and start to believe in those words too.

Overall, this was an inspirational collection that I can see many readers finding comfort in.

I recommend this novel if you enjoy: self-help books; language-oriented novels; a focus on alleviating stress, anxiety, and depression; therapeutic reads.

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