<p>The author is not only a counselor but a mother who has experienced a great loss, the loss of her child. She takes you on a journey with her as she unpacks her grief on paper through poetry; but, she also gives the reader tools to be able to move through their grief process. Here is an excerpt from her book, <em>A Counselor's Poetic Guide Through the Grief Journey: </em></p><p><br></p><p><em>"</em>My words used to hide in my chest like the extremities of a turtle in uncharted territories. Like many of you, writing poetry as a child and adolescent helped me express myself and overcome being shy. In high school, two friends and I collaborated on a poem about family trauma and death loss. The piece brought our classroom to tears and revealed to me the moving power of words. </p><p><br></p><p>For the next decade, life happenings took precedence over my writing. However, when my son Nathaniel "Peanut" died, I desperately needed to&nbsp;unhook from the anchor of despair. Poetry was my expressive homeland. Now, the prodigal daughter, I found my way back to writing. The healing power of spoken word became clear when I expanded beyond writing poems to performing at open mic events. The mutual support we created, as we shared the underbelly parts of our circumstances, filled me with hope."</p><p><br></p><p>Here you can be free to unpack whatever it is you need to heal from but may have been unable to.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>This book is also a tool for other counselors to use with their clients who may be suffering during a difficult loss in their lives.</p>