Poems of Survival, Healing, & Hope
An unflinching, deeply personal journey through mental illness, addiction, grief and the long road back to hope — by Laura Hales.
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Louder Than Its Silence
The black hole wrapped its arms around me,
promising peace,
promising silence.
I let it pull me under—
I thought dissolving
was the only way
to stop the world from breaking.
I surrendered.
I let the darkness claim me.
I truly believed
my absence was mercy.
But when I crossed that edge,
I didn't vanish.
I was spit into a parallel world—
raw, injured,
reborn with burning lungs
and eyes that suddenly saw everything
with terrifying clarity.
I came back a new earth,
cracked and shaken,
but alive—
and the light that returned to me
was fierce,
unwilling to let go.
The black hole tried to take me.
But I came back
louder than its silence.
Laura Hales
An Australian poet with more than a decade working in public psychiatry, and lived experience of bipolar disorder, addiction, trauma, grief and recovery. Her poetry began as journalling during treatment and became a way to understand what often felt impossible to explain — she hopes her words help readers feel seen, understood, and a little less alone.