Tender Light Softens: When the Deep Places Speak

LOVE—a wonderful word, intricate idea, beautiful belief, that when freely shared spreads warmth, tenderness, and light throughout. I have learned so much in the 20 years since the man I loved passed away very suddenly one beautiful spring day. This includes understanding that Love is unique to those who share it and can be wide, palpable, and sustaining even when one’s physical presence is no longer. I’m not here to say that it is an easy process to explore the sorrows that loss contains. I am here to say that tensions harbored within, whatever their origin, can transform into wellness and movement toward wholeness. The poems in this book reflect exploring those sorrows with healthy doses of hope, which has lead to experiencing the comfort of Love more and more deeply. Along the way, tender light does soften over and over again.

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“Sarah Carlson’s poetry reveals a deeply personal yet universal journey; a path of healing that leads to union with the Divine. Her words are medicine.”
— DANIEL GIBBONS, D.O.

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“With her gently uplifting poetry and photographs, set in the sylvan foothills of western Maine, Sarah Carlson invites the reader to be present, to become aware of grandeur and beauty, to come to terms with pain and loss, and to know the experience of health.”
— JONATHAN M. BORKUM, Ph.D.

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“With these poems and photographs, Sarah welcomes the fullness of her life and shows us how to embrace our own life journeys. Sarah’s capacity to enter fully into the present moment, noticing and embracing what is enlarges our capacity to do the same. Healing, wisdom, joy, and peace are the fruits of that process. Thank you, Sarah, for sharing yourself with all of us in these generous and personal poems.”
— THE REVEREND ANN KIDDER

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“Sarah Carlson’s third book emerged from an explorative dive into an ocean of solitude and grief during the pandemic—her poems and photographs, the sparkling treasures she resurfaced with. Marveling at the intersections between chaos and calm, Sarah allows herself to ‘…rest, renew, and mend’ through gentle dialogues with the moon, the sun, the sea, the sky, the trees. At times, this collection reads almost like a diary, as we travel with Sarah into her roles as daughter, mother, sister, widow and new grandmother, while bidding farewell to a 30–year career, her beloved husband, and her family home. Through a lyrical and visual journey, Sarah discovers that in directly facing sorrow, she becomes more ‘adept at riding the steady waters of healing,’ reminding us that ‘just like the moon, we are whole,’ even while we feel ourselves waning. This collection reveals the ubiquitous nature of love and the Divine: a testament to the beauty and resilience that emerges from courageously facing our storms.”
— CATHERINE L. SCHWEIG, Founder & Director of Journey of the Heart, Chief Editor, Goddess: When She Rules

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SARAH CARLSON developed her unique poetic voice as she began to process the sudden death of her husband, Barry, both therapeutically and out in the natural world. She combines her writing with photography of scenes from her outdoor adventures in her home state of Maine and other wild places. Her third book, Tender Light Softens, contains work that has been written through the pandemic. Sarah received her B.S. in Education in 1990 and her M.Ed. in 2009. Her books beautifully combine her love of nature, journey toward wellness, and over 30 years of experience in the field of education.