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“The book is impossible to set aside.”
— Jamie Michele, Readers’ Favorite (Five-Star Review)
“Glowing with vulnerability, wit, and craft, Adams reveals how our most imperfect memories become our most treasured.”
— Dave Nash, Writer and Book Reviewer
“ The prose is clear, musical, and purposeful. By the final section, Drifting and Waiting, Adams has achieved something admirable: a memoir that feels open-ended yet complete.”
— Maria Ashford, Bookshelfie Reviewer (Five-Star Review)
“Threaded with humor, grace, and unsparing honesty, Not Finished Yet is both an autopsy and an anthem— an exploration of trauma, grief, and healing that invites the reader to celebrate the courage to allow ourselves to be undone and the beauty of the in-between moments that precede real growth and change.”
— Barlow Adams, Writer and Essayist
2025 BookLife Prize Finalist for Nonfiction
Essays on the Rhythmic Beauty of a Life in Flux
Not Finished Yet
Throughout, Adams writes with a raw vulnerability that captivates, whether penning an intimate letter to anorexia ("I believe even though you tried to kill me, there is a part of me that will always love you" she declares) or slogging through the dark waters of depression, where "the only way to end this living nightmare is to permanently disconnect my brain from my body."
Adams's writing is emotionally freeing—often seeking the silver lining amid life's pain—and an inspiring tribute to the battles she's overcome. Despite occasional melancholy, a deep sense of peace infuses the memoir—and a glimmer of hope for the life that still lies ahead."
—BookLife Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
"Throughout the collection, Adams invites the reader to sit with discomfort, yet she always offers a thread of hope. Her voice remains intimate and courageous, balancing confessional vulnerability with poetic insight. Faith and spirituality gently underscore the narratives, not in a dogmatic sense, but as part of the author's worldview. The influence of the Japanese art of kintsugi, introduced in the prologue, serves as the book's guiding metaphor: brokenness repaired with beauty, making each person's story more complete for having endured and survived.
This collection best suits readers who appreciate deeply personal nonfiction told with lyrical precision, as found in high-caliber literary journals. Adams's essays are honest and evocative, ideal for those who find comfort in reflective writing and seek to understand the sacred in everyday moments. Our Lives in Pieces is a heartfelt tribute to the strength found in fragility and the light that seeps through the cracks."
—Reviewed by Carol Thompson for Readers' Favorite ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
2025 IAN Book of the Year Finalist
Our Lives in Pieces
A Collection of Flash Memoir Essays
"I don't know how you couldn't be moved by this kind of writing. Adams's openness will inspire others to be more forgiving of themselves.
A common refrain in the book is the author looking upwards in her search for hope, sometimes explicitly surrendering herself to God. These admissions of powerlessness can make for sharp moments of incongruity, nestled as they are in writing of such punctuated emancipation.
Elsewhere, Adams manages subtler expressions of existential angst:
"I found a pile of feathers in the road, evidence of a wild turkey's struggle with a predator. When my struggle ends, I hope I leave behind something beautiful,
something with bold color and soft edges."
In speaking so freely about herself, Adams has achieved with her flash essays a powerful portrait of a very real person. The light bullying of the bookish kid, the childish machinations designed to get the attention of a youthful crush, the regrets about not spending more time with a sick loved one, the uneasiness with getting old and not recognizing oneself in the mirror: Adams speaks at a level so personal that it breaks through to the universal."
—Reviewed by Nikolas Mavreas, Independent Book Review