Silent Reflections of a Fragile Heart — One Year On

Silent Reflections of a Fragile Heart — One Year On | By Amy Roullier

This time last year, I self-published my debut poetry collection, Silent Reflections of a Fragile Heart. A poetry book born from heartbreak and healing.

One year on, I wanted to reflect. Not just on the book, but on why it exists.

A Book for the Hurting, the Healing, and the Hopeful

This book is for:

• Your friend who is healing from heartbreak
• The person who needs their hurt acknowledged, not dismissed
• Anyone who feels unseen while trying to find love in a digital world
• Those rebuilding after toxic relationships, still carrying too much shame and self-blame

These poems sit with the uncomfortable emotions – anger, grief, frustration, longing – and say: you’re not weak for feeling this way.

Why I Wrote It

I wrote this book to give voice to the version of myself I tried to silence for years.

The sad one.
The angry one.
The plate-poised-to-be-thrown-against-the-wall one.

I wrote it to make space for the slow erosion I experienced during an emotionally abusive relationship that spanned most of my twenties, followed by quick demolitions – again and again – while dating in my thirties.

These poems tell the truth: that once, I believed I had found kind love. Safe, supportive, the kind you nestle into and stay forever. Until it turned bitter and sour – an apple rotting in the sun, a flower wilting in autumn, a butterfly trapped inside its cocoon.

Online Dating didn’t lead me to the one. It led me into desperation – into believing I had to search harder, prove more, be chosen, in order to be healed. These poems let the hurt exist. They let the wounds bleed onto the page instead of remaining buried inside me.

Perfection, Fairy-tales, and Letting Go

This collection follows my journey of setting expectations so high that I wasn’t even sure what I was searching for – perfection, perhaps. A fairy-tale. All honeymoon-phase highs and none of the heavy reality that comes with long-term love.

It explores heartbreak and disappointment, and how I ruined good relationships because I didn’t believe I deserved them.

And then, slowly – painfully – it turns inward.

In my late thirties, after I’d finally spit out the hurt and acknowledged my rage, I began taking tiny steps toward self-love. Spending time with myself. Stopping the search for someone else to heal me. Learning, instead, how to heal myself.

One Year Later

Publishing this book was terrifying. It was also one of the most healing things I have ever done. Writing it meant finally acknowledging the emotional abuse I endured for years – naming it, sharing it, and allowing the hurt to be seen. In doing so, I hoped that maybe in telling my truth, I could help someone else feel less alone, or leave sooner, or recognize themselves in these pages.

The book is also a quiet rebellion against modern dating, particularly in the digital world. There are endless debates about whether dating apps help or harm, but after seven years of using them, I found the experience overwhelmingly superficial and deeply damaging to self-esteem and mental health. Maybe people do find love there – I know some do – but I’m still unsure whether the emotional scars are worth the possibility.

Most of all, this book is a reminder to myself that I am capable of seeing something through. That I can call myself a writer – even if this work is self-published – because I made it. I shaped every poem on these pages. I chose the layout, the cover, the words. It was created from my heart, and offered to yours.

If you’d like to support a very grateful indie author – or if you have a friend who needs these words – I would be so thankful if you picked up a copy of Silent Reflections of a Fragile Heart.

I hope it goes some small way toward healing you, too. Just as it did for me.

With love,
Amy xx ❤️

If these words resonate – for you or for someone you love – Silent Reflections of a Fragile Heart is available now.

My second poetry collection – Sundays with Myself – is coming Spring 2026. Follow me on Insta to hear the latest.