Plath published one collection of poems in her lifetime, The Colossus(1960), and a novel, The Bell Jar(1963).

It is true that that the facts of her death are what finally propelled Sylvia Plath into literary eminence—she published little during her lifetime and was largely unknown outside of poetic circles.When everyone around was growing with a pace that seemed unattainable to me, there I was - with Sylvia, stuck in a world where we were convinced that the only way to live was by being hard on ourselves. Many of the poems written in the final months of her life were characterized by a propulsion, or forward momentum, a gallop toward an end. Our mission is to foster a universal passion for reading by partnering with authors to help create stories and communicate ideas that inform, entertain, and inspire.

Then a few pages later I would find myself reading her list out her short-term goals and how they had to be met so she could reach and accomplish her long-term goals. An additional problem is posed by the fact that insight on crucial moments in her life—such as the birth of her children, her separation from Hughes, and her final days—is often missing due to the fact that Plath simply did not keep a journal during some periods (such as during her senior year of college), and that at least two of her journals have gone missing or been destroyed by Hughes. There is a forcefulness of the persona speaking through her work, and then too, there is her strong inclination toward wholeness and harmony; although, many only see the jaded and sardonic undercurrents.

all in all, I'd say that it was worth spending 2 years intermittently picking up her journals for the few insightful, emotional entries describing her anxieties as an aspiring author, her relationship with Ted, her deepest insecurities and her battle with depression (which she eventually lost). One sees the struggles she endured, in her daily life, as an imperfect person in the pursuit of her art. The first thing being her suicide and the second thing being her contributions to the world of writing. The title of the book indicates that one is given her unabridged journal entries, and that is exactly what one is given, nothing more!