Each and every one of us has issues we would like to solve. But these days it feels like anyone trying to improve our lives is also trying to pick our pockets. The sales pitch usually promises to equip us with the power to get exactly what we want out of the world. But after the excitement wears off, we’re usually just out 15 bucks. Evon Small takes readers down a different path. Living in a Changing World is less about avoiding life’s disasters and more about preparing for when they come.

Evon Small takes a refreshing approach to the spiritual/self-improvement genre: pairing poetry with photography and wrapping them around life’s themes. Internet poetry has become increasingly popular (even making it to the shelves of major retailers), but Small’s verses rise far above the average social media poem. While we don’t see a lot of creative comparisons or word choices, music still spills out of each poem. For instance, one of my favorite poems: “We Need You” contains such memorable commands as, “rain or shine, make us be ashamed to stay the same.” Lines like this show Small’s precise use of repetition and focused approach to sound. The result is that sentences that would otherwise sound preachy transform into hymns, chants, mantras, and spirituals.

Sadly, the same level of praise cannot be heaped on the book’s photographs-  which constitute the weakest part of an otherwise good collection. Comprised of stock photos, most pictures fail to compliment the poems around them and come off as an afterthought. Nonetheless, the central message is worth reading. The book talks to readers living in a changing world, but focuses on the constants: highs, lows, love, and God. All this comes together to sing a touching, melodious message.

Pages: 80 | ASIN: B0794XCVH1