The Cycle of Life

Most parents do the best they can. There are always things they do that we, their children, are not happy about.

This is a book about a loved one’s declining memory, death, handling grief, and dealing with the death of a parent, but it’s also about life. It’s about the cycle of life—of being a child; then being a parent, and seeing that same cycle continue in your children, and in theirs.

It’s about loving that cycle. And also, loving the people who are your family. You only get one of them, and you don’t get a lot of choice in the matter. What you can choose is how to deal with things not fully to your liking. Being loving and positive always seems like a good way, even throughout the mourning process.

An Amazon customer review actually said that, “Gillman’s poems show us that, if we can manage to stay emotionally present, the demise of a loved one paradoxically offers a unique and gratifying opportunity for intimacy and connection. Loving kindness and compassion are always great guides when we have no map or compass for the rocky roads of life.”