Shards of Self

By Corina Sferdenschi

The book consists of 10 sections or chapters, each of those describing various stages in life. Each of these stages are portrayed as living creatures with emotions that are felt inside by many of us. They can either take us towards light or towards darkness. To showcase each stage the author has used either poetry, narrative or short stories through which the message can be further emphasized to the public. In addition, an individual drawing or painting will accompany each of the stages . The artwork is entirely done by the author. The idea behind the novel is rebirth and coming out of one's former shell and evolving into a new persona. All the trials experienced up to that point have served as lessons in life and have formed into protective layers around our persona. Now those layers are being shed one by one to reveal a transformed individual.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Corina Sferdenschi
• Release date: Aug 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005147709

Corina Sferdenschi

Poetry and writing has been a source of comfort from a very young age, having written my very first poem at the age of 12. Since then I used various metaphors to describe life experiences and various emotional journeys I encountered. When I don't work in my day job where I am apparently a knight in shining armor, I dedicate some of my time to writing. Having compiled poetry for almost 20 years I thought it was about time to select some and publish them in "Memories of Self". That was the easiest book to put together as I already had most of the material. My very first book, "Shards of Self", is a very personal project representing the beginning stages of a long overdue healing process that culminated during the pandemic and its respective circumstances. I am very proud of what the book represents, what it evokes and how it came to be. The journey was not easy but it was cathartic. I am also so grateful to those who took the time to pre-read it and to provide some much-needed feedback. When I don't write, I enjoy painting, dancing, traveling, and experiencing life's journey in its entirety. I have also held a deep love of Asian culture from a very young age and, to that end, I look forward to my travels to Asia in the future. https://coryane.com - the site URL might change in the near future. For contact information, you can reach me on Instagram: @blues._28 Thank you for the support and love given to my work!

Book preview

Acknowledgments

Iwould like to thank my mom for always pushing me to keep writing and follow my dream.

Thank you to MC for taking the time to do a first reading and provide valuable feedback, as well as for taking photos of all the artwork I completed for each chapter so that it can find its way on these pages.

Intro

ARTWORK - KINTSUGI

Kintsugi is the Japanese art form of putting together broken pottery pieces by using gold. I look at Shards of Self as a similar process. Having gone through so many life changes, both positive and negative, I found my own self broken into many pieces. However, each piece represents a part of me and I found the process of putting them together a healing process that has enabled me to become a different person. Just like the broken pottery turns into a new piece once it is put back together, I also think I am a new person today. Yes, you can see where the parts were reattached and that is the beauty of kintsugi - it shows that imperfections are in fact beautiful and unique. I am not perfect, yet I am unique and so are each and one of you. Embrace your own imperfections and the many selves you have to navigate in our life. 

As I look around the room among a clutter of unpacked boxes I can’t help but feel