When times are tough - whether because of illness, bereavement or receiving bad news - it can be hard to find the right words. Help comes in the form of this beautifully packaged gift book, comprising 100 life-affirming poems handpicked by an expert on poetry. Grouping the poems by theme - from 'Hearing Bad News' to 'How To Carry On' - this gem of a book features contributions from classical poets such as John Keats, Emily Brontë, W.H. Auden and Christina Rossetti alongside lines from more contemporary poets such as Philip Larkin, Elizabeth Jennings, Raymond Carver, Carol Ann Duffy and Wendy Cope. It adds up to a wonderful pick-me-up - a self-administered drug guaranteed to make a dark day brighter and act as a great lyrical crutch.

Daisy Goodwin is a TV producer and popular broadcaster with tremendous indepth literary knowledge. When her mother, interior designer Jocasta Innes, was dying of cancer she realized there was a gap for a book to cheer people up in the darkest hours. She compiled this anthology in response. Her previous books include the bestselling books TheNation's Favourite Poems, The Nation's Favourite Love Poemsand101 Poems That Could Save Your Life.Daisy Goodwin lives in London W12

100 great poems for hard times, chosen by the author of The Nation's Favourite Poems