Reflections in My Twilight Years: Collection Three

Karen Chism resides in Michigan with her husband of many years, Jim, and their adorable pet Yorkie, Duchess. After illness forced their retirement and derailed their plans to live out their days in their beloved Branson, MO., their lifestyle was drastically changed. Jim no longer was able to practice chiropractic and Karen didn’t have a business to manage. They had to give up their enjoyable ballroom dancing that they both loved and had occupied the bulk of their entertainment. Jim’s illness prevented him from continuing his lifelong habit of reading and Karen’s illness, limited the stamina she had to read to him. Karen, with many hours to reflect upon their new circumstances, found one theme recurring in her mind; (Black and White and Shades of Gray; whatever happened to yesterday?) She found herself inexplicably, thinking thoughts, subjects, or having conversations in rhymes. As a result of declining health, the simple act of voicing her thoughts or communicating with her husband became very frustrating. She began to randomly record her rhyming thoughts and started to share them with loved ones. The reader will be able to understand what she is trying to say, just as if in casual conversation. To borrow a phrase from the Bible; except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? Karen still enjoys her daily Bible study and therefore her style of rhyming has a heavy emphasis on God’s wisdom. With God’s Book as exhaustive as it is, she finds material for the next poem everywhere; just as God is. These last few years have not been all fun and games; indeed they have brought generational grief of unspeakable proportion but . . . that is the subject of her non-fiction book that is in the works. Her first writings to be published were in a three part series titled, ＂Reflections in My Twilight Years.＂ She writes most every day and has several more non-fiction projects on her desk at the moment, including a memoir, an advice book for married couples, and more poetry collections.