Life’s Rich Tapestry: Woven in Words is not your usual book of poetry – not at all. Sally Cronin’s stunningly beautiful book is a work of art to be read again and again. It is the kind of poetry and enchanting stories that lift you up, touch your heart, and make you see the world in an entirely new way.

This beautifully crafted book, with verse for every season of the year and a treasure strove of all things human too, is one of a kind. There are enchanting fantasies where fairies and other folk are at play and Sally’s portrayal of the beauty of the natural world will take your breath away. Her love of animals is represented here as well as she celebrates her love of pets, and all pet lovers will treasure this heartfelt telling that will capture your heart.  Sally speaks to the past eloquently of soldiers old and young that are remembered here and speaks of those that are forgotten.

The beauty of her philosophy of life she represents in random thoughts that I see as a gift to all that will enrich everyone’s sense of being and opens the door to growth within our hearts and souls. Her superb writing talent is portrayed in micro fiction and short stories that are a wonder to read.

Last but not least at all, is Sally’s ode to The Duchess 1917-2012.  I read this first and I felt Sally’s great love for the Duchess that brought tears to my eyes.

****I look forward to when the print version of Life’s Rich Tapestry Woven in Words is released. I can’t think of a more beautiful gift of love to give to all those that I love – my family and friends.

ODE TO A MADMAN

The cunning words, that rings so true, bring me but dark memories,

From a time and a place, best forgotten, yet always, just beneath,

The surface of a black night, filled with anguish and loss,

Of fear, trepidation, horror, not of this world, not now, I pray,

but then it crawled into being, by what force, I do not know.

They say, nonsense, but it lives, somewhere, now,

To come again, to crush, destroy, all the goodness

The world has ever known. The pinnacle has arrived,

Once again, we face, the face of evil incarnate, we see it daily,

But a few do ever acknowledge what we see, we feign ignorance,

Deny what we see, yet, it creeps to our door,

Seeps under the floor, the poison of its words,

It lies so beautifully. ~ Karen D. Dowdall

WORDS

Words are singularly the most powerful force available to humanity. We can choose to use this force constructively with words of encouragement, or destructively using words of despair. Words have energy and power with the ability to help, to heal, to hinder, to hurt, to harm, to humiliate and to humble.

~Yehuda Berg

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/yehuda-berg-quotes

ANGER

Hatred is corrosive of a person’s wisdom and conscience; the mentality of enmity can poison a nation’s spirit, instigate brutal life and death struggles, destroy a society’s tolerance and humanity, and block a nation’s progress to freedom and democracy.

~Liu Xiaobo

https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results?q=Liu+Xiaobo+Hatred

LOVE

Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.

~Ann Landers

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ann_landers_143025

PEACE (AND LOVE)

Peace is the beauty of life. It is sunshine. It is the smile of a child, the love of a mother, the joy of a father, the togetherness of a family. It is the advancement of man, the victory of a just cause, the triumph of truth.

`Menachem Begin

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/menachem-begin-quotes

SADNESS

Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.

~Carl Jung

https://www.brainyquote.com/search_results?q=Carl+Jung

Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself.

~Walter Anderson

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/walter-anderson-quotes

FEAR

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

~Nelson Mandela

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/nelson-mandela-quotes

Happiness

There is only one happiness in this life: to love and to be loved.

George Sand

https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/george-sand-happiness

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.

Jim Rohn

Https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/jim-rohn-happiness

The Writer’s Path 

Like most aspiring writers, you probably didn’t think at a certain age, like 7 years old for instance, that you wanted to take your imaginary places in your mind to pen and paper. These were your secret longings; these fantasy images, stories, and playmates that lived in your imagination.

These things, when you are 9 years old, were real. They lived, they breathed. The magical Jinn of your imagination tells you of adventures that once taken through the woods down a secret path will lead you to hidden wonders like dragons and princesses in towering castles.

These thoughts, when you were 12 years old, like knowing the Jinn would warn you of witches and golems that walk at night to take you far away, never to return, should you get lost in the forest as you prepare to walk down that darkened path. Now, at last, you finally take that path, the writer’s journey to the hidden wonders you still seek and all the perils along that road, waiting for you there.

Author Andrew McDowell’s Mystical Greenwood (One with Nature) fantasy novel, book 1, is great for teen boys and girls who would love a fantastic fantasy adventure with so much action, magic, soldiering, danger, and wizardry. I believe that there are few books for teenage boys and girls out today that match the excitement, the creativeness, the originality, the great characters, and the adventure this writer captures so well.

The main character of this fantasy adventure story is Dermot who is a teenage boy wanting to find his own way through life and therefore has a difficult relationship with his parents. By accident, he found the kind of life he was looking for, but that life was and is, fraught with danger every day.

The Seer Sorcerer, Saershe, is a brave conjurer of healing herbs, teas, healing ointments, magic, and honors the Mystical Greenwood forest. She, and her dragon-like gryphons, help to guard the young men, one of whom is her grandson, Ruairi, and he is also a part of the Greenwood Forest keepers.

This wonderful, exciting, and often breath-taking adventure series is perfect for those parents and teens wanting a fantastic adventure series that is perfect to share with friends and teachers. I give Mystical Greenwood a 5 star rating for the 12-19  years of age group especially, and also for all older age groups who would enjoy an exciting adventure series, and a clean read.