Sugar the Blackberries

Book excerpt: "Joan Peck Arnold began writing poetry in her sixties to work through the challenges of later life, in the process arriving at a way of healing and a fresh perspective on the everyday. In these poems, she looks frankly at difficult things-grief and loss, fear and illness, life's seasons and storms-to locate hope or make peace with what has come and gone. She shows us how to find solace and connection in an object, a memory, or a moment, in our senses, and in the poignant details of ordinary life. What do we leave behind? What endures? How do we let go? A beautiful and accessible meditation on time, nature, and art, drawing inspiration from ghosts to Van Gogh, Sugar the Blackberries is a resonant collection for poetry enthusiasts and newcomers alike that holds lessons about love and survival for us all, no matter our age"--