The Crossroad - by Pat Williams Owen (Paperback)

About the Book

The Crossroad explores memory, grief, loss, and the nature of our irredeemably human existence.

Book Synopsis

"Life is made of little and big crossroads, where decisions we make change our world. Some, like leaving a loveless marriage and taking your young children to build another home in a hostile world, are truly weighty and earth-shattering.... The Crossroad is a journey through memory that examines bold choices, small moments, the recurrent nature of grief, and the many kinds of love that a life might hold, as the poet reckons with the decisions she has made and moves into a new wholeness." -Jeremy Paden, author of World As Sacred Burning Heart

The poems in The Crossroad explore memory, loss, the nature of our irredeemably human existence. Like Our Town, these poems see the timeless in the everyday. They remind us to pay attention to the details of our fleeting lives.The Crossroad is one woman's journey, every woman's journey.

Review Quotes

"These poignant and deeply reflective poems capture the essence of life's pivotal moments-from tender memories of family and childhood to profound reflections on grief. '1974 Sanibel Island' chronicles the pain and wonder of choosing your true path, even at the risk of alienating-perhaps even harming-those you love. It beautifully captures a moment in time, blending nostalgia with the tension of impending change. Sadly, it's followed by a series of poems that chronicle the heartbreaking illness and loss of her beloved. Typical of Owen's poetry, this pain is telegraphed through small moments brilliantly observed." -Patricia Averbach, author of Resurrecting Rain and Dreams of Drowning

"These wry, beautifully observed poems catch and hold the light of a long life well-lived. The opening sequence returns the poet, in memory, to her time as a young mother, when an undeniable new love upended her marriage and changed her life. These are poems of family, community, grief, joy, and tenderness, all infused with an honesty that doesn't shrink from the more difficult moments but renders them in the context of a greater radiance. A profoundly human and moving testimony." -Alison Luterman, author of In the Time of Great Fires and Desire Zoo

"Pat Owen's new collection, The Crossroad, provides a map for hope, emphasizing the goodness of people, the value of selfless love, the benefits of nature, and the positive experiences that make up a life.... 'My new neighbor helped me / make Thanksgiving dinner, ' she writes, 'the year I was first alone. / It's impossible to forget / such a kindness- / it enters us somehow' ('It Becomes Part of Us'). As Robert Frost suggested, a poem cannot cure the ills of the world, but what it can do is offer 'a momentary stay against confusion.' That stay is what makes Pat Owen's new book valuable." -Maureen Morehead, Kentucky Poet Laureate 2011-2012

"With a documentarian's keen eye and a sojourner's profound attunement to wonder, this poet asks us to look closer at the natural world-'the root dangling with mud / and the blossom glinting / with dew' ('The Gist of the Gist')-and even closer at the human heart."

-Julie Marie Wade, author of Small Fires, When I Was Straight, and The Mary Years