Blossoms and Bones: Drawing a Life Back Together

Kim Krans' Blossoms and Bones is a MUST READ if you have ever gone through a struggle and you just didn't know how you would survive. I have been through a few of my own - different from the author's - and yet I saw myself in her words. I could feel my own pain in her artwork that she poured onto the page. Kim writes in such a way that you relate to the struggle itself, rather than a specific disorder or diagnosis... and there was no build-up to the this. I opened the front cover and the artwork inside - before the title page - plucked at a string inside of me. I couldn't put it down.Ms. Krans' journey of falling down and building herself back up is one we all need to see, and is drawn in a way that will reach so many more hurting souls than your typical "self-help" book. I have already recommended it to several artistic-minded friends who are hurting in their own ways, and I shared pages that would appeal to them specifically and watched their eyes light up.I would personally like to thank to thank Kim Krans for using the gifts she was given and the great courage it must have taken to carry out this journey and then to open it for the world to see. You will change lives, Kim. Thank you.

I love Kim Krans' work - I own several of her decks and both of my kids grew up reading her books such as Hello Sacred Life and Whose Moon is That. The subject matter of Blossoms and Bones is obviously a bit more adult, but it has that same sort of fey, dreamy quality as the rest of her work. That said, I've never read anything quite like this book. The main narrative is extremely personal and haunting, but delivered in a way that made it relatable and engaging. If you are familiar with practices like active imagination, journeying, "soul retrieval," etc., reading this book is sort of like an illustrated walkthrough of these processes, and in some ways it reminded me very much of Jung's Red Book. Highly recommended for fans of Krans' previous work and anyone who has experienced the "dark night of the soul"....

This book surprised me in so many ways. Kim Krans is known for her gorgeous artwork, but in this graphic memoir, she vacillates between messy/chaotic words and imagery to literally show her traumatized inner world (perfect melding of form and content)--to beautiful words and imagery, to show how she wishes her world would be. It's an intense read, and you literally have to move the book around to follow along with her. I've never seen anything like it, and I'm absolutely blown away. The book is a triumph over addiction, loss, loneliness, and ego. I wish the "prayer pages" were perforated so I could tear them out and hang them on my wall as art. It's a masterpiece, if you can let yourself get lost in her world, and let yourself be overcome by its tragedy and its beauty.

Raw. Forthright. Thought-provoking. An invitation to reflection and vulnerability. The issues that Krans addresses do not have to be your issues for this unconventional piece to be relevant. In the unfurling of personal agency, she models a process of denial, distraction leading, ultimately, to discovery that any pilgrim on the deepening road will recognize. While Kim grapples specifically with an eating disorder that is simply the manifestation of deeper losses and grief. This visual and penned narrative is sweaty, not sweet. Yet, in the end, the reader sees the surrender to the possibility of healing while allowing apparent contradictions to exist side to side.I have a checklist of five of my beloveds, each in a season of struggle ... it will pass from one hand to the next. And I imagine each one, once read, will feel compelled to get their own copy. And make it available to their friends in the grip of nagging, incoherent grief.It depicts a journey from shame to spaciousness.

I was disappointed in this book. The author is well known and I feel like she could have gone deeper in this book. It’s like she lets us in on a part of her journey. I guess it did leave me wanting more. The story is hard to follow also. Confusing at times.

A beautiful, meditative, honest book. I read this over the first few weeks of quarantine and enjoyed the way it invited me to sit with my thoughts and ponder the same questions the author was pondering when she wrote the book during her own 40 day retreat. If you are a fan of Kim's tarot and archetype cards, you will certainly love this.

This book was wonderful and strange and also difficult to read (emotionally). I recommend the actual book version. The Kindle version did not separate the pages correctly, so I couldn’t turn it sideways to read two side by side pages together. Instead, I would get the previous page and the first half of the next page.Update: I added a picture to show how the book is not split correctly in horizontal mode. It’s a major downside to the ebook!

I love memoirs and have written some professional reviews in the past. Just wanted to say that this book is beautiful from cover-to-cover. The story of introspection and insight is moving and self-compassionate. An important model for others going through life changes and dealing with conflict within. Drawing and writing together works beautifully. A keeper for my bookshelf.

I was already familiar with Kim Krans' art (various card decks and children's books), and must admit that I am a true fan, but this book is an absolute masterpiece in embracing vulnerability and going deep into that dark cave we are all afraid of yet know is there, lurking in the shadows.An absolute gem for people going through a tough patch, doubting themselves or battling an addiction of any kind, but also for people who love art in its rawest and purest form. I wish I could order 100 of them and give them out as gifts to all the people I know who are struggling with something in their life, which is pretty much everyone!

In Blossoms and Bones, Kim Krans takes you on a journey.It begins simply enough. Krans has taken refuge from herself in an ashram for thirty days. During those thirty days, she has the urge to “draw the feeling”. Every day for thirty days, she puts pen to paper and draws her emotions.As Krans puts pen to paper, we are witness to her unravelling. We watch as she struggles with an addiction to food, with self-hate and self-loathing. We watch as she tries desperately to deny what her subconscious is telling her, what she has been trying to tell herself for so long.With each day that she draws, she comes closer to the truth and even closer to the parts of herself that she left behind intentionally. She parts the curtain to travel deep within herself and take a look at some very hard truths.When the skeleton offers Krans its hand as it offers to be her guide through her subconscious, will Krans be brave enough to take it and follow the skeleton on this journey within herself? She will have to go down to the darkest parts of her inner self.Will she be able to journey that far? Will she come out again?It’s difficult to review this book without giving everything away. I knew that I had to read it as soon as it was announced. I’ve ben a long-time fan of The Wild Unknown by Kim Krans, her bright and colourful tarot cards, animal spirit cards and the new archetypes cards. I’ve been reading tarot with her cards for years now. I even had the Strength card, the Ace of Wands and the Ace of Swords tattooed on my right shoulder. I love her work that much.The cover to the memoir is a riot of colour, but I knew from seeing a few images online that the memoir was drawn entirely in black and white. This lends to the books power. Everything is so very raw and the black and white imagery without the use of colour makes it all seem a little bit more primal.Sprinkled throughout the memoir are prayers. These are so lyrical and so simple that you can’t help but put the book aside for a moment to contemplate what you’ve just read. I actually want to copy these prayers and fill my office with them.I love how this book was laid out. As you are reading it, you have to turn it upside down or turn it around to read all of the words. I also love that, even though the book is completely done in black and white, there is a rainbow coloured ribbon bookmark to mark your place. It’s as if that bookmark is like a light in the darkness in some way.This isn’t a book for the faint of heart. It deals with a lot of heavy personal issues, but if you can persevere, you will be witness to one woman’s coming completely apart and cheer as she puts herself back together. This isn’t just a memoir you read; it is one that you experience.Blossoms and Bones is a gorgeous, beautiful, gut wrenching, harrowing, dark book filled with so much light. Touching on subjects like infertility, eating disorders, endings and beginnings, everyone needs to experience this book. It will leave you changed.I am neither perfect nor imperfect. I wait to hear what my new song will be.

Amazing. I cried immensely from the first page but in a good way.

This book feels beautiful, real and raw. I appreciate that Kim shared her journey with all of us. I feel like we see apart of ourselves on every page.

Love it! So beautifully illustrated and powerful!