For New York poet Matt Buonocore, making a book free is about more than the price. It’s an attempt to turn his beliefs about compassion into a practical choice.
When Matt Buonocore began writing poetry at 23, he wasn’t planning a publishing strategy. He was trying to understand his own experiences—and find language for the feelings people share but do not always discuss.
Today, the independent poet from Central New York is using that approach in his collection Our Love Is the Cure: Affirmations for Liberation. He says he decided to make its Kindle edition permanently free so that money would not prevent someone from encountering its message. The title is also listed as a free eBook on Kobo; availability and prices may vary by retailer and country.
From private reflection to a published voice
In written responses to NewsPositive, Buonocore recalls that reading The Book of Mastery by Paul Selig inspired him to begin writing poetry. His early poems helped him examine fear, uncertainty and heartbreak—and gradually notice how often apparently private struggles overlap with other people’s experiences.
“We all want to be loved, understood, and accepted.”
For Buonocore, poetry became a way to explore connection rather than a promise of easy solutions. He describes his writing as an ongoing conversation about personal growth, compassion and the questions people carry through difficult periods.
Why make the book free?
His choice to remove the digital book’s price arose from a question about consistency. If the collection argues that kindness and compassion are for everyone, he wondered why a reader’s financial circumstances should stand in the way of accessing it.
He has also experienced the lasting impact of books himself: a passage encountered at the right moment can reshape how someone interprets a situation. Making the book free, he says, leaves open the chance for someone else to experience that connection.
“It’s a small gesture, but I think small gestures matter.”
The author says he intends the Kindle version to remain free in supported Amazon marketplaces. Readers should check the displayed price before downloading; NewsPositive has not independently verified that the Kindle edition is free in every country.
Compassion without a perfect ending
Buonocore’s poetry explores mindfulness, acceptance, spiritual reflection and emotional connection. Asked what he would tell someone facing loneliness or uncertainty, he emphasized that people need not solve every problem before treating themselves with kindness.
“You don’t have to have everything figured out.”
He hopes readers might finish the book feeling less alone or more compassionate toward themselves. These are his hopes for the emotional experience of reading, not claims that poetry constitutes medical treatment or can cure illness.
Buonocore is also careful about reader privacy. Although people have connected with his work, he declined to provide an identifiable reader testimonial without that person’s permission. That boundary is as much a part of this story as his decision to remove a price barrier.
The projects still ahead
The writer says he has completed an unpublished manuscript, All the Lives I’ve Been, which explores identity, memory and personal transformation. He is seeking publishing opportunities for it while developing another project with the working title The Beautiful Absurdity of Being.
He is also collaborating with his grandmother on a book about their experiences navigating dementia together. That project, he says, has deepened his appreciation for presence, patience and time shared with family. Both projects remain in development and have not been announced as published books.
Putting a message into practice
Buonocore does not claim that offering a book free will change the world on its own. His point is more modest: an act of generosity, however small, can align what people say they value with what they choose to do.
For readers interested in poetry, his book offers a way to explore those ideas without the usual digital purchase price on participating platforms. For anyone beyond the literary world, the story poses a useful question: what could each of us make more accessible to another person?
Explore the book: Amazon listing (check your local price) · Kobo free eBook listing · Author page.
Editorial note: This article was developed from written interview responses Matt Buonocore provided directly to NewsPositive, with permission to quote them. The feature was selected independently; it is not a paid or sponsored placement.
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