Turnings: Lyric Poems Along a Road
Author
Donald R Fletcher
Publisher
Outskirts Press
3 Review Copies Left
One Man's Inspiring Journey of Vision and Service
Part memoir and part anthology-this book is a spiritual autobiography. Don describes in vivid scenes the road he has taken through a long life and the epiphanies that have come to him along the turnings of that road. And because he has a gift of lyric poetry, he includes a rich selection of poems written as his life experience unfolds, marking the evolving of a sensitive spirit.
Reviews
Turnings, Lyric Poems Along a Road, by Donald R. Fletcher is an exceptional autobiography/memoir. The author writes about his life's journeys and lets his spirit sing through his use of lyrical poems throughout the book. He invites the reader into his soul so as to become apart of his path through life.
The book opens to his life in Korea. This is where it all begins his childhood and his spiritual bringing up. Then it makes a slight shift into Princeton where he attends the Universtiy and eventually meets his wife. I quote a lyric poem he wrote for his wife: When in the secret shadow of my thought, I wonder at the love you have for me,And try to understand the wind that brought, Such wanderers here across the dawning sea. It goes on but I absolutely love those lines. You can see his love for her and the beginning of a long love filled life togther. Life turns again as you turn the page and on to Latin America From Latin America to Texas and Alabama and then again to Philadelphia. He goes on in his travels but does eventually end up in New Jersey.
The entire book is filled with ups and downs, hapiness and sadness, births and beginnings, loves and loves lost, and everything else that you would expect in a lifetime. The lyric poems brings the reader in to know these experiences on a deeper level, to understand him as if you were there on the journey with him.
Reviewed on 10/18/2010 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Jessica Williams
"Part memoir and part anthology - this book is a spiritual autobiography. ...And because he has a gift of lyric poetry, he includes a rich selection of poems written as his life experience unfolds, making the evolving of a sensitive spirit." (Part of blurb from back of book.) The combination of narrative and poetry made the read more interesting because, as a reader, I could journey into Donald L. Fletcher's soul and get in touch with his internal spirit.
The story begins with Fletcher living in Korea with his missionary parents and the trials and tribulations of life there. He then transitions to his quest at Princeton, to meeting his wife, to living in Latin America, to returning to the United States, to moving to Mexico City and then back to home ground to settle in New Jersey and live out the rest of his life.
"Turnings" is a pleasant and interesting read while giving the reader a glimpse into a not-so-ordinary ordinary life. Although most of us don't have the opportunity to live in so many different places or have as many experiences in other countries, we do get in touch with a man that is like many of us: child, spouse, parent. I thoroughly enjoyed, not only learning about the life of Donald R. Fletcher, but also being able to see how a spiritual quest unfolded and remained intact.
Reviewed on 06/27/2010 by ReviewTheBook.com Member Irene Watson
