A Voice of Her Own: Becoming Emily Dickinson

Barbara Dana writes extremely well I was taken right into the life and times of a young Emily Dickinson. Anyone who is a fan of Dickinson's will want to add this to their collection of books to read and reread. This is not just for young people but adults too.

Despite a huge body of work and lifetime's worth of correspondence she left behind, Emily Dickinson remains an enigma in many people's minds. Why was she so preoccupied with death? Why did she choose to not marry in an era when most women did so to the exclusion of all other pursuits? What drove her to write more than one thousand poems, yet never seek publication for her work? By immersing herself in Emily's poetry, prose, surroundings, and numerous biographies, Barbara Dana seeks to answer these questions in a first-person, fictional narrative of Emily's life from age eleven to twenty-four. A VOICE OF HER OWN portrays Emily as a vivid, social, intelligent child; spending days and nights with family and friends, tramping about the idyllic town of Amherst, Massachusetts. Despite numerous bouts of illness, anxiety attacks, depressions, and the frequent loss of loved ones, Emily always retained a passion for the natural world, not to mention a fierce drive to improve both academically and as a poet. It took a long time to read this novel, not because I didn't enjoy it; quite the opposite in fact, because A VOICE OF HER OWN became my daily treat of Godiva chocolates. Whenever I wanted a quiet moment to savor the beauty of nature, or revel in contemplation of a slower-paced way of life, I'd pull out Barbara Dana's book and dip into the possibilities surrounding Emily Dickinson's formative years. Ms. Dana did a superb job of capturing Emily's voice and spirit, making this novel a truly joyful read and definitely one for the keeper shelf. Reviewed by: Cat

I cannot imagine how much research and love went into writing this book. While reading it, I laughed aloud, teared up, and folded down page corners on a regular basis. Barbara Dana captures Emily's voice with such precision, you feel as though you've discovered a long lost diary. Emily's observations of life, self, nature, and expression are just as relevant now as in the time of her childhood. This book is sure to move, inform, and inspire you no matter what your age! Don't be misled by the young adult category! I cannot praise it enough!

I really enjoyed reading about Emily Dickenson and was happily surprised to hear she was way ahead of her time. Despite having a mental illness, which was kind of glossed over, she was a strong woman. I have always enjoyed her poetry and became fascinated with her once a teacher of mine told me that my poems were similar to Emily Dickenson's! After that point, I have tried to read everything I can on her. This book is not only entertaining, but offers a lot of insight on Emily's family, friends, pets, schools and poems. I really enjoyed this book!

This is a historical fiction novel told from the point of view of Emily Dickenson. Most everyone knows Emily because she is now a famous poet, but not many people how about her childhood and coming of age. This book will change that for whom ever chooses to read this novel. We learn that she was way ahead of her time and long to be a poet. Instead she was stuck at home doing housework. Emily was plagued by mental illness and physical illness in her lifetime as well. This is the story of how she tries to balance everything out and live her true dream, the dream of becoming a poet. A few of her poems she was able to see in print. Sadly, after her death is when her poem really became well received as her sister had a book of them published. If you are interested in Emily Dickinson this book is a great one to read. Through the book you will learn about the person behind the poems!