If you'd rather place an order by talking to one of our cheerful order desk clerks, please call 1-888-232-4444 (USA and Canada only) or 250-383-6864. From Europe, ring our UK order desk clerk at local rate number 0845 230 9601 (UK only) or 44 (0)1865 722 113.

Strands of Memory: Sweet and Bittersweet Memories and Meditations

by William R. Tracey, Ed.D.

150 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-1135; ISBN 1-4120-3308-x; US$19.95, C$25.00, EUR16.25, £11.26

A book that will touch the reader's heart, mind, and soul. The events and situations described in both rhyme and blank verse include many to which readers will readily relate because they have shared similar experiences.

Read more!

about the book      about the author      excerpts      catalogue info

About the Book Meditations - a collection of sweet and bittersweet memories reveals the author's successes and failures, dreams and fantasies, strengths and weaknesses. It tells stories and draws word pictures celebrating life in more than 200 poems. The author shares thoughts and feelings about his experiences over a period of more than 80 years. The collection sings the songs of his life, his strengths and weaknesses. It describes incidents, events and the things that have troubled, hurt and pleased the author and his family. Bill has been writing poetry for 25 years and has published more than 30 poems. To him, verse, both blank and rhyming, is an invaluable means of helping him to heal, survive, and grow. In short, the book describes relationships and events that have made his life more meaningful and rewarding.

---

About the Author An 82-year old widower and Cape Cod "wash-ashore," Dr. Tracey is an international management and training consultant, a retired Naval officer and military school administrator, a combat veteran of World War II (Pacific Theatre), and a former elementary and secondary school teacher, principal, college professor, and psychologist. Author of 14 books on communication, leadership, training and development, and human resources management, a 3-volume set of memoirs, and more than 100 journal articles, he has also written a biweekly column on management and communication for a Cape Cod newspaper. Married for 53 years to a wonderful wife and mother, now deceased, he is the proud father of six children, 13 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Bill has been writing poetry for over 25 years and has published more than 30 poems. To him, verse, both blank and rhyming, is an invaluable means of releasing pent-up emotions and for painting beautiful, sad, or joyous pictures with words. Writing is viewed as a gift that has helped him to survive, heal, and grow.

---

Excerpts

Foreword

This is a collection of verse, mainly blank verse, which I have written over the years. I know that this book reveals more about William R. Tracey than most men would want to have exposed to the view of others, particularly to the members of their families. But, I have always been a realist. I want friends and family to know the real person that I am - my dreams, my fantasies, my weaknesses, my naivete. So, there are very few things about me that remain hidden - and those withheld are held back only because I think that they would be hurtful to others if revealed. And I make no apologies for that.

Putting my emotions into words and allowing my loved ones to experience with me the things that troubled, hurt, pleased, or delighted me, helped me to heal and made my life more meaningful and rewarding. Being able to express myself through the written word, and to share my thoughts and feelings with others, are truly blessings. I must also admit that I began to write verse simply because I was lonely and didn't have anyone close enough frequently enough to talk with and share my feelings. Poetry gave me a chance to create listeners and to say what I desperately needed to say without feeling guilty about it. So I did exactly that.

But, writing verse has its risks because it causes one to lose control and frees the poet from the grip of his or her cautious mind. Naturally, that makes one nervous and gives rise to a litany of fears: of looking foolish, of revealing too much, of exposing oneself to injury or pain; of giving offence to someone, of exposing hidden parts of oneself; of alienating someone loved. But that is the price the poet must pay. So, he or she must muster the courage to go deep, to seek the truth - for that is the aim of all true writers.

Perhaps the dilemma and challenges faced by poets are better expressed in blank verse.

The Poet's Craft

Writers create in seclusion,
but out of that isolation
comes the reward of connection.
The words they use have the power
to bond with people - their readers.
That is especially true of writers of poetry.
They draw word pictures that transcend
any division created by culture.
They are storytellers,
like those of other cultures, such as the Irish.
Poets drink from the well called memory
and dive into the sea called imagination.
With every stroke of the keyboard
or scratch of the pen,
poets plunge into white water
filled with risk and danger,
not to their bodies,
but to their souls and self-esteem,
It's a dark and daunting place.
Poets speak of love and devotion,
of the beauty of nature, of fear and courage,
of hope and despair,
of lovers and lost loves.
Their verses cross the boundaries
of time, geography, sex, age,
nationality, race, and culture.
Here lies the challenge:
Poems unite us as humans.
It is through written or spoken verse
that poets make connections
with others and their inner selves.
Because within all of us,
there is a deep yearning
to share our experiences,
our needs and fantasies,
and to know ourselves.
It is also through the telling
of those tales
that we build relationships
as well as reveal ourselves.
Poems are the catalysts
that open our hearts,
dismantle our preconceptions,
connect us to our world,
and communicate who we are.
Through rhyme and blank verse,
we sing the songs of our lives.

-William R.Tracey, Ed.D.

What Is Love?
It's an emotion,
an overwhelming
sense of affinity,
of attachment, affection,
soul sharing.
It's the most powerful human response
to the existence of another person.
Of course there are several types of love:
maternal and paternal,
fraternal and romantic.
Romantic love, unlike other forms,
is acceptable to most people
only when it is shared
by a man and woman
of the same generation.
That belief is specious
because love knows
no generational boundaries.
Love has no artificial borders.

Autumn Sunset
Autumn harvests dusk
in the failing light of day,
but vibrant waves of sunlight
extend their stay.
Lingering and delaying
they enkindle the sky,
giving way to darkness
as twilight passes by.
What radiance these voyages
to darkness share,
with shoulders so strong,
the rays that they bear
escorting out the last light of day
in a glorious, magnificent, heavenly array.

---

Catalogue Information

---