📘Unfolding Still by Astha Arora

BOOK DETAILS : 

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bigfoot Publications
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ 31 October 2025
• Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 109 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9363470881
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9363470880

ABOUT THE AUTHOR : 

Astha Arora's work explores themes of love, healing, self-growth, and emotional resilience. Her debut poetry collection, Unfolding Still, is a deeply relatable journey through the quiet moments of becoming; perfect for readers who love modern poetry, self-love poetry, and heartfelt reflections on life and relationships.

Through simple yet powerful words, Astha captures the emotions we often struggle to express, making Unfolding Still a comforting read for anyone navigating love, loss, or rediscovery. Her writing blends emotional depth with everyday honesty, creating poetry that feels both personal and universal.

Astha continues to write about life, emotions, and healing; inspiring readers to embrace stillness, vulnerability, and growth one poem at a time.

BOOK REVIEW :

Some poetry books whisper. Some scream.

Unfolding Still does something braver — it confesses.

Astha Arora’s collection lives in the grey. Not the dramatic black of despair or the pristine white of perfection but, the complicated, uncomfortable, beautifully human in-between. And that is precisely where this book finds its strength.

From the very first poem, you sense a voice that is unfiltered yet careful, vulnerable yet self-aware. The poet does not attempt to present a polished version of herself. Instead, she offers fragments; doubts, longing, overthinking, nostalgia, quiet heartbreak, and lays them out without apology.

One of the recurring emotional landscapes in this collection is the idea of emotional excess, being “too much,” feeling too deeply, thinking too far ahead. But what makes this book compelling is how it reframes that intensity. It suggests that perhaps nothing we feel is excessive; perhaps it is simply uncontained.

The poems explore:

• The comfort of dreams versus the ache of reality

• The longing to be heard without being judged

• The quiet transformation of a once carefree self

• The masks we wear when life grows heavier

There is a childlike softness in some pieces, especially those reflecting on lost innocence, contrasted with a mature understanding of emotional complexity. This duality creates a powerful tension throughout the collection. It’s almost as if the poet is having a conversation with her younger self while negotiating adulthood.

Stylistically, the language is accessible and conversational. Arora does not rely on dense metaphors or overly abstract imagery. Instead, she chooses clarity, which makes the emotions hit closer to home. The repetition in certain poems feels intentional, echoing the way thoughts loop inside our minds. I observed, this rhythmic recurrence mirrors the psychological patterns of rumination, making the structure itself part of the storytelling.

What I personally appreciated most was the thematic honesty. The book does not promise healing in grand gestures. It doesn’t pretend that everything resolves neatly. The title itself: Unfolding Still, suggests that growth is ongoing, unfinished, imperfect. And that feels real.

This collection will resonate deeply with:

• Readers who overthink.

• Those navigating identity shifts.

• Anyone who has felt like they are “too emotional.”

• People learning to embrace their flaws rather than edit them out.

If you enjoy contemporary, reflective poetry that feels like late-night thoughts turned into pages, this one deserves your time.

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