Conversations of the Soul

It was on the worst day of her life, in May of 1997 - when the author's arms hung paralyzed at her sides, when she howled like a wild animal because of the nerve pain, when she couldn't lift her arms to wipe her hair-and-mucus-plastered face - that she begged God to give her a job, to give her purpose. She was only 47. Around her, life went on - family graduations, weddings, funerals... She tried her best to keep up with social traffic, and with her husband's help, she looked presentable to the public.

She didn't know it then, but her pain was giving birth. The writer in her, being squeezed and pushed, was slowly coming through the birth canal of authorhood.

This debut collection consists of (She has to count twice because she can't believe how many.) 61 thoughts and feelings that she memorized on her nature-trail prayer walks, and later dictated into an old cassette recorder. (She couldn't hold a pencil.) This work spans a 13-year period of the sufferer's life who searched for a cure, visited many doctors, agonized through various modalities of physical therapy, and eventually agreed to try surgery with a meager 13% chance of recovery. Post-surgery, she is fortunate. Though she still has challenges, she thanks God for resurrecting her dead arms.

Born from the hellish pain of Brachial Plexopathy paralysis, the poems & artwork will make you tear up and chuckle. The author cries. She stomps her feet. Then she puts one foot in front of the other. And moves forward. Inspirational!