The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur

Rupi Kaur’s The Sun and Her Flowers is a breathtakingly beautiful written collection of stitched together poetry and illustrations. This groundbreaking book is one of the most widely acclaimed and widely read milks of the modern age and dives deep into the heart of what it means to be alive.

The Sun and Her Flowers is separated into five chapters that each delve into a different part of the protagonist’s psyche: wilting, falling, rooting, rising, and blooming. In ‘Wilting,’ Kaur presents us with a snapshot of the protagonist’s inner turmoil as she navigates the relationship between brokenness and beauty. In this poem, Kaur’s interpretations of the universal ‘self’ are laid out in a straightforward and sincere manner. She tackles issues of identity, shame, depression, and life in all its female forms.

In ‘Falling,’ Kaur’s deftness with emotions and their multiple layers of interpretation is a thing of beauty. By interweaving her sharp observations and personal experiences, she expresses the pain we all must face in our lives. Using her own journey as an example, she conveys how our stories can come together to become an organic, interconnected part of our individual realities.

The third chapter, ‘Rooting,’ is all about the act of grounding oneself and begins to bring the reader out of the darkness of the previous two chapters and into a more confident and comfortable space. Here, Kaur discusses in detail the process of examining and accepting, be it aspects of one’s identity or the reality of being a woman, in order to begin growing and rebuilding a newfound strength.

In ‘Rising,’ Kaur continues to explore the concept of healing and positivity, yet in a much different form. Here, she speaks of the death of her beloved, her life’s hard lessons, and of persevering despite the tragedy of loss. Furthermore, she provides tangible glimpses of hope in the midst of our pain. Kaur encourages us to remain strong, as she believes that “we are never broken beyond repair”, which is a powerful testament to the spirit of this book.

The fifth and final chapter, ‘Blooming,’ reveals the final realization of the protagonist’s journey. Here, Kaur rejoices in the beauty of life, expressing her gratitude and her love to those that helped shape her journey. The way in which she captures the feeling of the narrator’s personal evolution is what makes this book so remarkable and heart-warming.

The Sun and Her Flowers is a breathtakingly beautiful collection of poetry and illustrations that speaks about lives of women and the struggles we all face in life. Through her words and her imagery, Kaur has crafted a book that adds a new layer of understanding to what it means to be human. The book is highly encoded with metaphors and imagery, proving Rupi’s great skill as a storyteller, and serves as an inspiration to countless men and women alike.