Shards by William Bortz is a book of poetry that navigates the hurt of the past and how those fragments spill into present daily life while offering respite to both the writer and the reader. The collection does less mourning for hurt and more seeking amends with all of the shattered pieces: offering the reader hope that in brokenness there is reconciliation. This trend is most present in the poem 'War'. Author Bortz shows no condemnation for the father who passed the war onto him, only acknowledgement. In this key paradigm shift, we see the hope that the author beseeches us to grasp onto: honesty begets forgiveness.