This is the third and final instalment in this wonderful collection of anthologies which promises to sooth, revive and inspire. And how we all need that at the moment!

I was delighted to get this latest edition because each time I've bought copies of The Poetry Pharmacy I've found someone I think would love it and benefit from it. This time I've resolved to keep a copy for myself.

The formula remains the same. William Sieghart prescribes the perfect poem for a variety of life's ailments, offering hope and comfort to readers in need.  

Perhaps we're needing encouragement, he writes, then this poem by Edgar Albert Guest, could be just the thing. Or if we're feeling hopeless, try 'Hope is the Thing with Feathers' by Emily Dickinson. There are six themed sections each containing around a dozen poems, all accompanied by wise, insightful words from Sieghart explaining his choice.

Poetry is a spiritual link in isolating times, he says, and this was never more so than during the pandemic. In that time he was emailed daily by people struggling to cope with their new reality. He has drawn on the poems which were shared on the internet during the lockdowns as well as 'tried-and-true classics' from his in-person pharmacies.

There are also short sections explaining how to read a poem, the history of The Poetry Pharmacy and William Sieghart's reminder of the power of words to help us heal, to reconnect with the world and to recover what has been lost.

This is a wonderful book which is a perfect gift to hand someone in good times and bad, and it's a very valuable book to have on your own shelf too.