Poignant, refreshing, and relevant; not only will you be entertained, but you will be challenged by the unique and stimulating, push and pull rhythm of many of the poems in this collection. You will hear echoes of the struggle between light and dark; good versus evil. You will travel through the entire range of human emotions to experience love, joy, sorrow, peace, hurt, anger, frustration, confusion, sadness, and most importantly hope. You may see things in a way you never have before; finding new wisdom. You will be impacted and perhaps walk away feeling consoled and even counseled. You may even rush to the Word of God to find confirmation that these precepts are true. With a new and refreshing style of poetry with a purpose; these non-fiction books are definitely a must have for your library. If you read one and you will want to read all three. These poems flow from a mature heart that has experienced much of the ups and downs that life has to offer and walked away stronger, wiser, and thankful for the lessons learned. These are true life stories set to rhyme, in a straightforward and honest manner. Many of the poems deal with the everyday and often news worthy human condition, as such you will certainly be able to relate to many of the situations; you will laugh, cry, and perhaps wonder why. You might find yourself saying, "Been there, done that." You may even say, "Boy, I wish I had done that." The author is cognizant that the Lord is always looking over her shoulder. She seeks to please Him - her most important critic. She does not hide her source of inspiration; in fact, she hopes that you too may find it beneficial to immerse yourself in the unfathomable riches of God's love and advice; bound within the pages of The Holy Bible. ---"Our lifestyle echoes our beliefs;" Karen has expressed this motto in her rhymes. I found her poems to be entertaining, wise, and thought provoking. - K. Compton, Editor in Chief, Heartspeak Publications, Incorporated.---
About the Author: Karen Chism resides in Michigan with her husband of many years, Jim, and their adorable pet Yorkie, Duchess. After illness forced their retirement and derailed their plans to live out their days in their beloved Branson, MO., their lifestyle was drastically changed. Jim no longer was able to practice chiropractic and Karen didn't have a business to manage. They had to give up their enjoyable ballroom dancing that they both loved and had occupied the bulk of their entertainment. Jim's illness prevented him from continuing his lifelong habit of reading and Karen's illness, limited the stamina she had to read to him. Karen, with many hours to reflect upon their new circumstances, found one theme recurring in her mind; (Black and White and Shades of Gray; whatever happened to yesterday?) She found herself inexplicably, thinking thoughts, subjects, or having conversations in rhymes. As a result of declining health, the simple act of voicing her thoughts or communicating with her husband became very frustrating. She began to randomly record her rhyming thoughts and started to share them with loved ones. The reader will be able to understand what she is trying to say, just as if in casual conversation. To borrow a phrase from the Bible; except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? Karen still enjoys her daily Bible study and therefore her style of rhyming has a heavy emphasis on God's wisdom. With God's Book as exhaustive as it is, she finds material for the next poem everywhere; just as God is. These last few years have not been all fun and games; indeed they have brought generational grief of unspeakable proportion but . . . that is the subject of her non-fiction book that is in the works. Her first writings to be published were in a three part series titled, "Reflections in My Twilight Years." She writes most every day and has several more non-fiction projects on her desk at the moment, including a memoir, an advice book for married couples, and more poetry collections.