Dear readers,

I am so excited to officially announce my second poetry collection: Tender is the Light, which will be released on the 28th of February 2026.

The book is divided into the four seasons, starting with spring, and includes 63 poems and 31 colour photographs, to deepen and expand the work.

I was lucky to have my friend and fellow poet Alix Klingenberg (author of Quietly Wild and three other poetry collections) as an early reader, and she said:

“Sarah and I are such kindred spirits, and this collection felt like opening a portal (or a mycelial connection) between my own inner life and the wild intelligence of the world.
With lush specificity of language, Tender is the Light moves through the turning year from spring (urgent, verdant) to winter (hungry, insistent), letting the complexity of life emerge the way green shoots rise, impossibly, through snow. These poems are spells of attention: rooted, sensuous, honest, and quietly ferocious.
Sarah’s words are punctuated with stunning photographs of paths through the woods, petals, frost, and light through branches; natural thresholds that guide the reader further into a living landscape.
There are blackbirds here, and blackberries, oaks and foxes; moss and mist, heather and woodsmoke, ravens cutting through the sky like omens, and the kind of quiet knowing that arrives when you stop forcing your life into lists and start letting it rewild you. This collection restored my faith in the beauty that surrounds me, and I finished it feeling steadier, softer, and more awake to what’s still possible.”

I’ve also included some images below to give you an idea of the vibe.

And below is the middle poem in full, which seemed a fitting choice, since it’s still feeling pretty wintry where I am here in the North of the Netherlands:

Frost

I am a child of the North
Winter is supposed to be cold
None of this namby-pamby
wetness, greyness,
this flowers sprouting
in Novemberness
So when the soil hardens
leaves are edged with sugar crystals
and puddles freeze over
splintering satisfyingly
under the heel of my shoe
I dress in layers
lace up my hiking boots
and walk until the ache eases
until all I feel is cold
until my body knows it’s home
until my mind remembers
it is winter
it is time to dream

If you’d like to get your hands on a signed copy, they can be pre-ordered via my shop page. Pre-ordering ensures you’ll be one of the first to have the book in hand, and it helps me get an idea of how many books I need to order from the printer.

Alternatively, you can pre-order the e-book here from your preferred vendor.

You can also order a standard (not signed) copy from Amazon starting the 28th of February. Whichever way you choose to order, you are supporting me and my work, and you have my gratitude!

There will be a virtual book launch via Substack Live on the 28th at 8 PM CET, where I’ll have a chat with Alix Klingenberg about writing seasonal poetry and writing in dialogue with nature, and we’ll both read some poetry for you, so follow me on Substack for more info on that.