Meditations on Life: A Tuesday Circle Anthology

By: Mary Simmerling Ph.D.

A luminous anthology born from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer's Tuesday Circle poetry workshops, Meditations on Life gathers poems of grief, belonging, and renewal that remind us we are never alone.

Across four sections-Gathering and Belonging, Loss, Remembering, and Grief, Transformation and Emergence, and Praise, Presence, and Spiritual Inquiry-sixteen poets trace the contours of living with sorrow, joy, and wonder. What emerges is not simply a collection of poems, but a communion: a circle of writers who dare to wrestle with what it means to be human and to share that truth in community.

With honesty, vulnerability, and awe, these poets invite readers to join in their circle, where grief and gratitude, despair and praise, memory and hope exist alongside each other. Tender, authentic, and deeply resonant, Meditations on Life offers comfort and companionship for anyone navigating the fragility and beauty of being alive. Contributors include Thomas Amsberry, LeAnn Blackert, Heidi Bourne, Joni Brennan-Hazlett, Susan Gelber, Denise Jessup, Katey Largay, Paula Gordon Lepp, Robby Vorspan Lynch, Sue Mapel, Jerilyn Pelikan, Mary Simmerling, Tam Spielman, Emily Jane VandenBos Style, Angela Thomas, and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

I have never encountered such a soulful, heartfelt gathering of poems in one place. This collection, lovingly curated by Mary Simmerling, is the ultimate expression of this group's deep commitment to the healing power of connection. There is so much "humanity/to harvest from each other's leaning in," as Emily Style wisely points out in one piece, and reading this book, we can't help but lean in, too-toward ourselves, each other, and the world of loss and joy waiting all around.
-James Crews, author of Turning Toward Grief and Breathing Room

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1997737019
• ISBN13: 9781997737018
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Write Where We Belong Press
• Length: 94 Pages
• Weight: 0.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"