Smiley: A Poetry and Short Story Collection - Paperback

by Christian Joel Gonzales (Author)

Smiley is a deeply introspective journey through memory, loss, and self-reclamation. Blending poetry and narrative, this collection explores the fractures of childhood, the weight of family, and the quiet echoes of trauma that follow us into adulthood. Through raw storytelling and sharp reflection, Smiley confronts what it means to grow up under the shadow of pain and still find a way to smile. From "Cocoon", where the body is both a prison and a transformation, peeling away the past in painful metamorphosis, to "Rage", a raw, unflinching reckoning with trauma, forgiveness, and the fire that pain leaves behind, each piece unravels what it means to carry history in your skin-to bloom despite the bruises, to rise from the wreckage of who you used to be. This is not just a story of survival-it's a reckoning. A meditation on the past, the love we try to hold onto, and the identities we rewrite when no one is watching.It's about looking back. It's about moving forward.And it's about learning to smile, even when you don't know why.