Book excerpt: The Places Between Words is a collection of poetry about the barriers of our own minds, as well as those we face within society. The poems illustrate how our insecurities and ruminations can make us feel completely adrift at times. But they also show what we have to hold onto in those moments of self-doubt - whether that be the people around us, daydreams about our surroundings or, perhaps most of all, words themselves. This collection is meant to be a safe space and to validate the quiet voices, the ones that rarely raise above a whisper. Because a whisper is still a voice and it deserves to be heard.