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Book Celebration – Almost Loved
DATE :
DEADLINE: November 28, 2025 - 3:10 pm
"What if you spend the rest of your life
chasing love, only find her cowering
in the pit of your stomach?
What then?"
Almost Loved, a poetry collection written by emerging poet, Alberta-based author Rena Joy, will be connecting with readers this October and November.
Almost Loved follows an adoptee from foster care as she searches for love and healing while pushing back on the labels assigned to her. Grappling with subjects of abuse, mental health, and deeply held grief, this collection aims to answer: what does it truly mean to be loved in a world where you're seen as second best?
This debut collection has been described as “real, vulnerable, evocative,” offering a rare glimpse into the adoptee experience and a safe space for readers who may struggle with their mental health.
Almost Loved is available for purchase wherever books are sold. Rena will be connecting with readers in October during Foster Care Awareness Month in Alberta and in November for National Adoption Awareness Month.
Book Signing Dates, 12-4 pm.
October 4, Chapters St. Albert.
October 11, Indigo Sherwood Park.
November 1, Indigo South Edmonton Common.
Poetry Reading - November 27 - Stony Plain Library, 7 pm.
Rena Joy is a 2023 Canada Council for the Arts grant recipient for her poetry work and 2021 Alberta Foundation for the Arts grant recipient for her work for children. She was also the 2024 featured writer with the Edmonton Public Library. She lives in rural Alberta, on the outskirts of Edmonton. For more information about Almost Loved and Rena Joy, visit renajoypoetry.com.