Book excerpt: Is it possible to find Utopia; that imaginary place of perfect peace and understanding? Every once in a while, amidst the turmoil of life, a glimpse of this perfection will come, perhaps in seeing a sunrise or a sunset, or hearing a babbling brook, or looking into the wonder filled eyes of a child. Always, it can be found, when sought. As a child, I felt that I was different from others, as if everyone else had a secret that I was not in on. I began to be a seeker at a very young age. I married my high school sweetheart, and recall the blessing being bestowed upon us during our wedding, “that we may find the peace that passes all understanding.” At that same time, in the background, the song “Oh Perfect Love” was being sung. I admit to being somewhat idealistic, but oh, how I yearned for just a glance at that kind of peace and love. In no way did it come in the way that I ever would have imagined. Just 14 years, and four children after the marriage, my husband died suddenly of a heart attack, leaving me devastated with feelings of total inadequacy to run a family business left in my keeping, and raise four young children. Along with all the responsibility that came with these roles, I came to the realization that often times I would need to create a reality with the tools that I was able to gather along the way, constantly finding them in need of repair or replenishing. It was during this time that I began to see writing as one of those tools and sought peace through poems I would write. Whenever I would reach a milestone in life, or be richly inspired by a happening, or experience the death of a loved one, I would write a poem and find a resolve as a way of ending the poem; always seeking a positive place to leave my feelings. “Reaching Utopia” is a poetry book about some of the joys and sorrows I have known along the way. Because I have always been a seeker of that perfect peace, I am happy for the joys of the journey, and grateful for the sorrows. And as I have become a believer, I hope, you may also come to believe that Utopia, although an ideal created from imagination, can be a place within your reach.