This lyrical volume of poetry is well crafted and rooted in specific natural detail. The images of the poems draw on all seasons and a breadth of family life and experience. The reader will recognize the emotions as personal with a universal truth, but will also experience each poem as new and poignant. The author's childhood in the Missouri Ozarks is vividly portrayed in the poems. The poet's voice is strong, sure and original, unflinching in facing the harshest realities of life and death, and coming to transcendence, transforming pain into artistic achievement.