Copyright 2014 Finishing Line Press

 

The cover is a black and white drawing of a pair of torn and ratty jeans hanging upside down by the legs from a wooden fence that has been overgrown with twigs and leaves. Above the sketch is the title and subtitle of the book and the author’s name is beneath the photo.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

 

Life happens. As a teenager, you’re told you can’t go to the mall because your aunt from out of town is visiting and the family is planning a trip to see The Nutcracker. As an adult, you hear news on the radio about an airport bombing in Los Angeles. Your husband suffers a debilitating stroke, and you spend the last six years of his life caring for him at home.

Not all the poems in this book are about tragedies. Some are humorous, others serious. Topics range from school to love to death and everything in between.

What Others Have to Say.

 

“Abbie Johnson Taylor’s book of new and selected poems, That’s Life, speaks to both the small and momentous events in our lives. She writes of a picnic in Florida where she eats fried chicken, and she writes of her husband’s stroke and then death. In between, we see a woman who appreciates her foldable cane, and who offers advice to teen-age girls. Taylor’s language is simple and clean. She doesn’t get distracted by trying to make her poems sound “poetic,” but rather uses clear, everyday language to convey her thoughts to her readers. I know that many readers will find solace in Taylor’s plain-spoken, but heartfelt lyrics.” Jane Elkington Wohl, Author of Beasts in Snow and Triage.

“That’s Life is a collection of poems that celebrates the normal, the ordinary. In this book, beauty, peace, and happiness are found in everyday events and situations. Abbie Johnson Taylor also emphasizes the strength of the human mind and heart. Faced with difficult, stressful, and tragic circumstances, the subjects in this book nonetheless endure, thrive, and bask in happiness and hope.” Allyson Whipple, author of We’re Smaller Than We Think We Are.

THAT’S LIFE

 

 For Anna

 

Oh you of thirteen years,

when told you can’t go to the mall

or sleep over with a friend,

please understand that’s the way life is.

If you grow up thinking

you’ll always have your way,

you’ll be sadly disappointed

so better put on your big girl pants—

deal with it.
***

Click to hear me read this poem.

***

Ordering Information

Click here to order online from Finishing Line Press

That’s Life Print Order Form

 

Abbie wears a blue and white V-neck top with different shades of blue from sky to navy that swirl together with the white. She has short, brown hair and rosy cheeks and smiles at the camera against a black background.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

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