A Forest Beneath My Ribs

What if the feelings we struggle to name could take the shapes of animals?

A bear carries the weight of depression. A hare listens for danger. Two wounded wolves measure each painful step. And somewhere among the branches, a small bird waits to be heard.

In A Forest Beneath My Ribs, Bairbre-Terese Williams explores anxiety, pain, memory and the delicate balance between needing solitude and longing for company. Through poetry and gentle pen-and-wash illustrations, ordinary moments—making tea, finding a quiet corner, sitting beside a friend—become places of recognition and possibility.

This is not a story of driving the animals away. It is a journey towards understanding them, making room for ourselves, and discovering that sorrow need not always be the loudest creature in the forest.