The Kind of Brave You Wanted to Be: Prose Prayers and Cheerful Chants against the Dark

I had been meaning for some time to write a review of this book. I was finally motivated to do as such when I found out that the author, Brian Doyle, passed away just a few short months ago, and now I'm quite disappointed that I did not write one earlier. Although I had only just discovered his works in the magazine First Things, I felt like I had really found something special and was looking forward to seeing his essay and short stories for time to come. I was never much of a person to read poetry (being a little too use to working through Kant and Hegel), but with Brian I found some one who could create a whole world in just a few short lines (if only Kant and Hegel could have done that).As for the book, a few notes. Most of the text is Brian's familiar prose-poem block texts that are hardly more than a page long a piece and range over all kinds of topics, but mostly centered on family and the other things that ground us. For a long time I had thought that what Brian did best was capture a strong sense of nostalgia for a bygone era (one I more encountered in the lives of my parents than in my own), but I realized upon further reflection that what Brian does best is capture an incredible intimacy in which the person he is writing about comes alive and feels more real and present and true than the person you last talked to in the flesh. His presence must have been incredible, and he and his stories have a gift for helping you to see the person right in front of you as well.This book is not the kind for sitting down in one long read but rather one in which you savor each little image and feeling that arises out of a few short lines. As with all things, some stories are better and more poignant than others, but each page will offer an unexpected surprise, that I can guarantee.To recommend only two of those that struck me the most from this collection, make sure you read The Song Sparrow (p.10) and Pop (p.45). Maybe more relevant to my life than yours as I am a teacher of teenagers and someone who deeply loves his father, respectively. Regardless, the latter poem is an especially touching one, only a few short lines about a moment that he shared with his father in Florida when their conversation is interrupted by a small lizard. One of the most arresting lines, which his father speaks after the lizard runs away after having crawled up his arm, probably applied as much to Brian as it did to the lizard: "rarely Have I been graced by such an ambitious soul." Enjoy the reads.

I am familiar with Brian Doyle from his writing with Daily Guideposts. He has a different style of writing from most authors and some may find it offputting. He seems to be a fan of unstructured and at times run on sentences. To me, it comes across as more of a love words (not unlike my own) mixed with a little stream of consciousness. (A style which I normally do not care for. However, that being said, I truly enjoy his thought process.)t I was greatly saddened to hear of his death, especially as I was just discovering him as an author. Luckily, there are several of his books available on Amazon. Often, when I find an author I enjoy, (and this is my first experience with a poet, or proet, as he would describe himself) I have a tendency to find as many of their books as I can and then gobble them down. With Brian's work, I find it's the opposite. I still want to find as many of his writings as I can, but I read him slowly, savoring and frequently rereading lines. It's as though I hear the words in my head as I'm visualizing the word pictures he's painting. As so many have said, he is gone far too soon.

I can't ever say enough about Brian Doyle. I happened upon him several years ago in The Sun Magazine and have been reading him ever since, among the many many now grieving his untimely death a few years ago. If you want to feel better, feel not so alone, laugh, relief to know that there are still plenty of good people writing and living their truths, take in the poems of Brian Doyle as you would an unexpected smile from a stranger, a helping hand or perfect day, a warm embrace. Nourish your heart, mind, sense of belonging, and commitment to stay open hearted no matter what's going on, no matter how dysfunctional things can become, in this (or any other) Doyle collection. I'm grateful every day for Brian Doyle's humble, raw, gentle, loving invitation to look compassionate inward and outward and you will be too. May his words and spirit live on in all readers, writers, and human hearts!

Birthday gift for daughter. I cannot review.

Brian Doyle never disappoints. and you don't read and discard. I find myself going back again and again to his books.

This is one of those books you will keep as a companion. The poems, or proems, sing with Brian Doyle's unique voice. It's one of those books where you'll catch your breath and think: "are you kidding me? how did he know?" Doyle does that with regularity. I know of no other writer who respects the reader as he does. "The Kind of Brave You Wanted to Be" is a box of jewels. Brian Doyle is a human treasure.

Brian Doyle manages to pack an intricate story into less than a page. Every word is beauty and his observations of the world surrounding him are detailed and packed with meaning. Gratitude for life in every line.

I have read several of his books but this was the best one. Love his stories and lessons that comeboutbid them