Susan Haleyproudly wears her heart on her sleeve, for all to display in her recent publication, Amber">Amber Returns to Maine! And Other Songs of the Soul.Returns to Maine - and Other - Songs of the Soul

Susan is poetic, politic, sincere and doesn't pull any punches.  Life is a celebration to her, and she encourages you to embrace yours with the same determination for happiness and joy, no matter the hardships.

While it's a very short book (she cuts to the chase, no dilly-dallying!), it's bursting with emotion that's contagious.  You're taken into her life to experience everything with her, the good the bad and the ugly.  

You experience what the loss of her husband was like, and the impact of his absence into the present—a beautiful and heart-wrenching discussion of widowed-life that can't help but make you grateful for the man in your own life, flaws and all.  She keeps life in check; it's to be appreciated and humbling, but not to the point where you're blown over with all your feelings and you get stuck in the emotional muck.  Truly a woman after my own heart.

I plan on passing this book along to all my daughters; it's a remarkable story of a remarkable woman's life and her journey with triumphs and tragedy—promoting more than a can-do attitude, but a can-learn and appreciative attitude that separates the important from the trivial.  This is not only a skill for everyday life, but can make the difference between collapsing under life's pressures, and keeping your head above water when things get rough.  

She uses both poetry and prose to illustrate her thoughts and feelings.  The raw quality of her writing is more than endearing, it's relatable and satisfying.  If you need a fulfilling summer read, look no further, and then pass it on to the closest woman to you.  It's time we appreciate all that we have, all that we've survived and all that we're still capable of doing.  Let's do it together!

Click here to buy this book.