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Author and poet Kathryn Carole Ellison’s nine beautiful books of poetry are a result of a lifetime of writing—first as a journalist. Then, because she had some life lessons to share with her children, she chose poetry as a means of communicating. The books, Celebrations, Heartstrings, Inspirations, Sanctuary, Awakenings, Sojourns, Gratitude, Milestones and Tapestry contain poems from a collection written over a span of 43 years. The “Poems of Life and Love” are as fresh and relevant today as they were when she first wrote them. Ellison began writing poetry for her children in the 1970s when they were reaching the “age of reason,” and she was leaving an abusive marriage, becoming a single parent, and overcoming her own addiction. She wanted to share “life’s lessons” and “words of wisdom” with them. Poetry was her way to communicate with her children to help them make good decisions in life, without a barrage of words and lectures that would fall on deaf ears. And so, the Advent Poems began. She gave her children one new poem each day during Advent, along with a trinket. More than 40 years later, her grown children still look forward to each Advent season to receiving her poems. In total, Ellison has penned more than 600 inspirational and wisdom-filled poems for living a more joy-filled life and overcoming every-day challenges. After Ellison’s second husband, Bill Ellison, founder of Value Villages/Savers, died of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2008, she decided it was time to share her poetry with the world. In 2014, at the age of 75, she started a business and began the journey into the world of publishing and fulfilling her life’s purpose. Ellison wants to share the message that it’s never too late to pursue one’s dreams. She believes the philosophy that “you can be old at 30, or young at 90”—that it’s all up to us. And she believes there is no better time than now to share the poems with the world at large. The present, broken world needs some good-old fashioned lessons in civility, kindness and common sense.
