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Jamie Winters
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i'm fine.: A Haiku Collection About Mental Illness Paperback – May 23, 2018

by Jamie Winters (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 41 ratings
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words can’t describe this
feeling of bricks on my heart
so i say “i’m fine.”

Mental illness is confusing. And messy. And complicated. Sometimes it’s hard to find the strength to get out of bed, let alone connect to other people going through a similar experience to yours.

Meanwhile, a haiku is written in only three lines and seventeen syllables. While the form itself is simple, haiku has been used to express complex subjects for generations. Three lines can give a surprisingly complex look at a single moment that might have passed by without thought otherwise.

The brevity of haiku makes it possible to digest hard subjects like trauma, depression, and anxiety in small, bite-size portions. The 120 haiku in this collection can easily be read one by one over an extended period, or all at once. This collection was made to bring together those affected by mental illness, whether you’re someone trying to understand a loved one’s experience or someone surviving mental illness yourself. You are not alone.

through seventeen sounds
i can reach through time and space
and show you my world

and when you’re reading
maybe you’ll recognize it
‘cause it’s your world too

peace descends down on
two strangers across the world
finally knowing

i’m fine

Previous page
  1. Print length
    144 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    May 23, 2018
  4. Dimensions
    5 x 0.34 x 7.99 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1719583811
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1719583817
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (May 23, 2018)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1719583811
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1719583817
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.34 x 7.99 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 41 ratings

About the author

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Jamie Winters

Jamie Winters

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Jamie Winters is a cat. You would think a cat can’t be an author, but that’s where you would be wrong.

Jamie first adopted his pet human when he was just growing out of kittenhood. He wanted somewhere to live that was warmer and more comfortable than the streets, so when a human offered, Jamie leapt at the chance. Because of his white fur, his human decided to name him “Winter.” Jamie decided to tolerate this in the sake of keeping the peace.

Over time, Jamie grew more attached to his human. He eventually realized two things. One, he actually loved his human rather than simply tolerating the creature. And two, his human was an idiot. After all, his human didn’t even know how to hunt propery, let alone bestow a name on a cat.

So Jamie decided there was only one course of action. With his extraordinary intelligence, he could take care of his human. He decided to become an author. It was a job that didn’t require him making many public appearances, and only minor tumb dexterity, making it ideal. Plus it allowed him to stay at home and keep his human from getting into too much mischief. He took the human’s loving (though misguided) attempt at a name and turned it into something much more dignified: Jamie Winters.

Much like his human, Jamie found writing to be more than just a means to an end, and he eventually fell in love with the craft. Now he spends much of his time writing and sharing his work with the world.

When Jamie isn’t involved in his literary pursuits, you may find him fetching dinner for his human, catching a warm sunbeam, or engaging in a relaxing night of belly rubs. Which are all completely for the human’s benefit. Of course.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
41 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Suzanna Anderson
5.0 out of 5 stars i’m fine: A Haiku Collection About Mental Illness by Jamie ...
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2018
Verified Purchase
i’m fine: A Haiku Collection About Mental Illness by Jamie Winters. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2018. 144 pages. $9.99, paperback.

Winters opens the foreword with “Sometimes, I find myself desperately wanting to create something. Anything. Except I don’t know how to get enough energy to tackle a big project. That’s usually when haiku come[s] to my rescue. They’re big enough to feel like I actually got a thought out, but small enough to not be intimidating.” She chose to use lowercase because “When I’m having a really bad day, my closest friends know to spot it by the fact that I stop capitalizing in my texts. I also thought it kept the flow of the haiku closer to the more uniform shape of Japanese haiku. Another style choice I made was that I went somewhat non-traditional. I’ve written my haiku in English, not about nature, and strictly following the rule of five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables.”

There are too many favorites to choose from, but I’ll present a select few.

modern life swarms me / i want to get out of here— / there’s nowhere to go

i wish i was small / so you could cradle me tight / like you do to the cat

walls keep it all out / you’re pushing bad away, but / you will numb the good

tie another knot / along with ten hundred more / never strong enough

red coat on a hook / in the closet gathers dust / dreams long forgotten

please just go away / shadows chased me my whole life / aren’t you tired yet?

all i can whisper is “tomorrow, tomorrow” / and hope things will change

The brevity is refreshing, and haiku is expansive in its small form. I stumbled across this collection from a group of friends, and quickly fell in love with the project of writing haiku, and wanting to create but knowing how overwhelming projects can be. Perhaps it is time to start a haiku project of my own.

—Suzanna Anderson
(originally published in The Magnolia Review, Volume 4, Issue 2)
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Christina H
5.0 out of 5 stars Deeply moving: You will not regret this purchase
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2018
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Full disclosure: I am not usually a reader of haikus. Only in recent years have I begun to read any poetry at all. This book of haikus is, simply put, beautiful. It feels deeply personal and highly relatable, a few of them I felt I could swear had been plucked from my brain and put on the page. Everyone should give this book a chance, you won’t be sorry, if you regret anything it will be that you didn’t pick it up sooner. This book is now up there with Warsan Shire’s work for how deeply it moved me. I can definitely see these haikus getting a lot of use on places like tumblr or instagram once the internet catches on to the authors incredible talent.
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wendy stenzel oleston
3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2018
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I purchased this because I struggle with mental illness and was looking for some hope. The title made me think it would be hopeful, but instead it created more anxiety. The Haiku's are well written and express the different emotions quite well, however it is better for me to stay away from things that perpetuate the emotion and challenges I already struggle with. I would say this is a good read for someone who is wondering what it's like inside the body of a person who lives with mental illness, but not such a good read for someone who IS living with it.
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aroyaldiadem
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you!
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2019
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I sincerely appreciate the raw and brutal honesty of the author. For those very simple things that are so easily taken for granted by so many of us, it cannot be compared to the day to day, and even moment by moment struggles that mental illness causes for those affected just to “get by.”

My soul ached just to read these words, but literally feeling that pain energetically, as they were being written on the page, but spoken directly to the heart.
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Ben
5.0 out of 5 stars A well written and relatable collection
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2018
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Though there is not an explicitly given plot hiding in the haiku of i'm fine, the poems do speak to one another in a way that suggests something. An underlying journey. A reminder to,those,struggling that others are in the same boat, as well as a peak into one specific life of struggle.
The way the poems are grouped gives to the sense of narrative greatly.
It was an enjoyable read and I already have a list in mind of friends to suggest or gift i'm fine.
3 people found this helpful
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Jake Cihak
4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiringly true.
Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2019
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I really enjoyed this collection of haiku from Winters. So many times, I found myself resonating with what he had written. I would say to myself, “That’s EXACTLY how I feel or have felt in the past, but I couldn’t form the words.” Winters expertly formulates the feelings and experiences surrounding mental illness. Ask me haiku we’re sort of vague and didn’t resonate with me as much, personally. However, maybe they’ll reach you better.
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Rachel L.
5.0 out of 5 stars For a bit of light on darker days...
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2018
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I thoroughly enjoyed this haiku collection, and had to make a point of slowing down to really enjoy the featured pieces. Each flowed into the next so well that I'd quickly get caught up in reading - the "chapter" breaks were greatly appreciated and felt like logical transition points.
As someone who's personally tangled with mental illness, I found many of the poems relatable, and bookmarked some that I sense I'll turn to when I need a bit of light on darker days.
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Sky Mills
5.0 out of 5 stars A LITTLE BOOK OF HUGE EMOTIONS
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2018
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This author takes a Japanese poetry form, haiku, and, uses it in a very unconventional way to express raw, honest insights into a suffering mind. In my opinion, she did a beautiful job. Some of these poems are painful to read; some are delightful to read. I recommend it to everyone. We can all benefit from realizing everyone is in a hard fight in life, some of us harder than others.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Daryl J Ball
5.0 out of 5 stars beautifully done
Reviewed in Canada on September 14, 2019
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Talking about mental illness is never easy. Capturing in words what it can be like to be challenged by such a thing is difficult for numerous reasons. With "i'm fine." Jamie Winters captures it not just in words but in haiku, illustrating the various stages you might find yourself in.

The stages covered are shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance. Throughout it all, there is a very clear message, the author makes abundantly clear and it's one that anyone suffering form any form of mental illness needs to know: You are not alone.

Many of these haiku are going to stay in my mind for a long time, and in my heart even longer.
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Insubstantial
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 7, 2019
Verified Purchase
1 haiku per page- I was expecting many more for the size of the book, but instead it took about 5 minutes to read the whole book. Some haiku were okay, but many felt stilted and not as evocative or meaningful as I expect haiku to be.
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