Review of Ayrriel Hodge's "Journey Through My Journal" (2022)

Posted on Amazon and Goodreads (December 22, 2025)

Journey Through My Journal is exactly what its title suggests: a vulnerable, wild n' messy, and intentionally imperfect collection of poetry and prose-poems documenting Hodge's ponderings about life. Hodge covers topics about Black womanhood, finding self through Christian faith, and abandoning the Super-woman trope for something much more real, authentic, and fulfilling. In transparency, I may not be able to fully connect to its heavy Christian messaging, but it is certainly a treat for those women whose faith is central to their healing.

Hodge begins the book with a dedication to women. The intention is clear from the start--for women to find themselves and share who they are loudly. Though a smaller collection, I wish Hodge's Preface could've said more about who she is and her writing experience. Yes, the journey through her journal helps us discover this. But an expanded preface would prime us.

I commend Hodge for her ability to be intentionally imperfect, daring to get rid of the super cape in her poetry and allow her writing to be as free as it can be. Her work reads as stages in life, from the mature and developed to the young and still learning. I can both appreciate what she has done in this collection and wish for more. My favorite piece, "Eulogy," describes a need that many Black women, including myself, have always expressed: being outwardly recognized, thanked, loved, and cared for, especially while we are still on this Earth to receive it. The piece can be read as romantic, but it is also a general address to the world. Love us while we are here. Give us our flowers while we are still alive to smell them and feel the petals between our fingers.

Hodge is a literal writer. In that sense, she cannot be misinterpreted. She commands us to be bystanders in her rediscovery of self. I am eager to see her explore metaphor, more imagery, more language that expands on the feelings rather than just reporting them. We can describe our lives in a million ways; poets add to that forever-growing list of expressions. This is Hodge's beginning form as a writer and it is a brave start. Her next form will undoubtedly be even more powerful and even more LOUD. And I can't wait to see it.

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