Nariah Webster’s book is a collection of verses, musings, and mantras designed to motivate and empower.

Webster is the author of The ABCs to Achievement in 2020. Abandoning the abecedarian approach, she turns to poetry in this newest volume. The verses in this book—numbered, oddly, 111, 222, 333, and so on—offer typical self-help advice, such as: “Sit back, relax, and pull over. I know you might feel like you’ve been hit/ by a bulldozer,/ but trust me, my baby, your life is not over.”

Many of the pieces are brief, the shortest being a single line. Short poems can be powerful; e.g., the Imagism of Ezra Pound and William Carlos Williams. Yet Webster’s poems offer almost no imagery. The closest they come is the opening lines of verse 1111: “Dear free will,/ learn to be still.” The personification of free will, and the paradox of giving orders to the epitome of individuality, is an interesting idea, though an undeveloped one, as the poem ends only five lines later.

Most self-help books are straightforward, offering actionable advice in a no-nonsense tone, illustrated with examples from history, literature, and life. By contrast, Webster tells no stories, and her advice is sometimes fuzzy, as in verse 1616: “Here’s an equation to the top of the tower:/ Knowledge applied equals power!” Yes, but knowledge of what? And how do we apply it?

While the poems rhyme, they don’t adhere to strict forms, but are more like rap songs, where rhyme springs from the rhythms of speech. Verse 1008 is a good example: “When you lay your heart on the line,/ and you feel it’s been declined,/ take some time to renew your mind.” “Line,” “declined,” and “mind” are obvious rhymes, but she sneaks in a slant rhyme with “time,” subtly upping the prosody.

Such rhythms can be fun, and Webster’s book is often enjoyable. Those hoping for useful advice, however, won’t find this offering terribly enlightening.

Also available in hardcover and ebook.