Pain is like a fire: at once destructive, creative, and revelatory. In her debut poetry collection, I HAD TO BREAK ME, Nisha faces the fires in her life and finds incredible beauty among the ashes.

You'll accompany the poet in her previous position as a healthcare provider, struggling to heal patients within a broken system. You'll journey to Nepal, the poet's place of birth, as she mourns the wreckage of the devastating 2015 earthquake and helps her community rebuild. And you'll bear witness as she silently reflects on past loves that brought her both heartache and self-discovery. On every page, the poet's sparse, cyclic language invites you to witness the very core of her heart-and, perhaps, to see yourself in each all-too-human struggle.

I HAD TO BREAK ME is a spiritual memoir in verse that celebrates both cataclysms and joys. At its deepest level, this collection insists that for every external battle we wage, what we truly fight against-and hope to win-is ourselves.