The Inventory of Silence

The Inventory of Silence is a debut poetry collection that examines the emotional lives of men with clarity, restraint, and an unflinching honesty. Rooted in the landscapes of Yorkshire and the quiet spaces we rarely name, these poems explore grief, tenderness, memory, and the weight of what is felt but left unsaid.

Peter Atherton writes with a spare and atmospheric voice that listens as much as it speaks. His poems move through the hidden rooms of a man’s interior world, the inherited silences, the unspoken fears, and the moments of softness that rarely find language. Each piece becomes an act of witnessing to the things we carry, the things we lose, and the things we learn to hold differently.

This collection traces the subtle architecture of becoming. It follows the long shadows of childhood, the ache of fatherhood, the quiet labour of healing, and the fragile work of learning to speak in a world that often asks men not to. The poems are intimate without confession, vulnerable without spectacle, and grounded in a sense of place that feels both personal and universal.

The Inventory of Silence invites readers to slow down, to listen, and to recognize themselves in the spaces between words. It is a book for anyone who has struggled to express what they feel, lived with the weight of silence, or searched for a language that can hold both hurt and hope.

A collection of stillness, depth, and emotional precision for those who understand that silence is never empty.

Release

12th July 2026

Available  worldwide on Amazon in standard and large print paperback, hardback, and eBook.

About the Author

Peter Atherton is a writer from Yorkshire. His work focuses on emotional honesty and the quiet pressure people learn to carry. His writing is shaped by lived experience, long walks, and the need to give language to the things most people avoid.

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