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Her pain becomes my pain
Her bad days at work
Turn my sunny days to rain”"
This collection of poetry, part of the author's Time 2 MANning Up Series, centers on an approach to life called "lyphing," a philosophical concept that combines radical acceptance, resilience, and a respect for humanity. This thread of lyphing spans decades, featuring the parents of past memories, the kids of a childhood, the grown parents of a new generation, and the spouse who is a partner in everything. Chapters group sets of poems into categories such as parenting, love and marriage, prayer and faith, our nation, and more. Deep topics emerge, including grief, vulnerability, identity, curiosity, and joy. Layered meanings—for example, words that sound the same but have different spellings—deepen the introspective nature of these poems.
To the age-old questions of "who am I" and "who are you," echoes resound with startling, though perhaps not unsurprising, clarity. In the distinct voice of a child, now a deep, grown-up sound on the phone, or the memory of a mom's half-laugh, half-scolding breath at one's ear as a kid, there's a common theme: I'm proud of you. In these lines of poetry, there's no mistaking the pain of silent nights or lessons learned the hard way, but there's also a strong, gentle voice that upholds honor, intentionality, integrity, knees worn by prayer, and a family-first commitment. Picking up this collection of poetry helps one feel less alone in the haphazard (often all in a day's time) nature of life—from a meet-cute with a future spouse, to saying goodbye to a loved one, to the swelling in the chest as one's grandbaby sleeps—and offers a profound feeling of peace, as night turns to morning.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review