How I Understand It: A Bad Poet's Guide to Mental Health & Resilience

Join us in-store for an afternoon of raw, poetic and personal insight from therapist, Margaret Bryden, on Saturday 9/12/26 at 2:00PM!

**Margaret M. Bryden** is a Venezuelan-Californian author with a passion for understanding the intricacies of the human heart. A graduate of UC Berkeley, she holds a double major degree in Linguistics and French. Her academic journey continued with an MBA from San Jose State University in California. When Margaret pivoted from the world of business to that of mental health, she obtained a Master of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Westminster University in Salt Lake City, Utah. Margaret currently practices as a licensed therapist, informed by her multicultural upbringing and extensive educational background. Margaret is the founder of Sage Insight Therapy (www.SageInsightTherapy.com), where she dedicates her work to providing compassionate therapy services to individuals and couples, fostering personal growth and emotional well-being. When she's not immersed in her professional practice (or writing Bad Poetry) Margaret finds enjoyment in hiking scenic trails, cooking delicious Venezuelan dishes, and getting her hands dirty in the garden.

***How I Understand It: A Bad Poet's Guide to Mental Health & Resilience***

What happens when a therapist writes poetry about her own heartbreak, healing, and inner contradictions? You get a book that’s part personal reckoning, part emotional survival guide—and, surprisingly, a little funny.

*How I Understand It* is a candid, unconventional collection of poems, reflections, and clinical insights from a therapist who isn’t afraid to call out codependency, detail the emotional complexities of grief, or tell imposter syndrome to go f*ck itself. Each chapter explores a universal theme—love, divorce, dating, trauma, forgiveness, grief, motivation— blending raw poetry with therapeutic commentary and journaling prompts that invite readers into their own journey of insight and growth. The book culminates with a guide on how to build your own collection of poetry for resilience, making it a practical therapy tool for anybody looking to upgrade their self-expression repertoire.

Whether you're a therapy client, a clinician, or a human navigating the tender terrain of adulthood, this book is here to remind you: your emotions make sense, your perspective is valid, and your story is still being written.

This is not your average poetry book.

This is not your average self-help book.

This is *How I Understand It*.