In Words of a
Journey: My Thoughts on Life and Living, Kaitlyn Kashman astonished me by
having in her very lead sentence a “thank you to my enemies” as one of the
groups of people that helped shape her into who she is today. I
thought to myself, “How true” it is that even those for whom you have distain
and animosity are so important to provide, at times, clarity of morals,
motivations and guidance of what “not to do.” Commonly people associate
enemies with needing a form of forgiveness, but she actually goes further to
provide “thanks.” Wow, I was blown away as that certainly disarms
any hostility on both sides of any conflict. All this from a teenager!
Beyond the introduction
of the book I noticed each right hand side page, or odd number page, is
blank. On the left side of the galley she has either a poem or her
thoughts written, but on the opposite side there are simply lines to encourage
the reader to write his or her own thoughts. “How modest,” I thought
to myself as Kaitlyn beckons her reader to write their own thoughts – not to
just read only hers, but to participate in a book with words of their own
journey. In my opinion, this had Kaitlyn Kashman step out of her
book and into the room with the reader. Although I didn’t fulfill
the task of writing my own prose, I did have a unique sensation of
companionship with Kaitlyn being present, not hidden behind the pages of her
book.
Kaitlyn Kashman writes
beautifully, as her poems have feeling, emotion, sensitivity, love and
honesty. I must admit, at times I felt as if she was being a bit coy
not naming some of her friends by name, knowing the book will be read by many
of her peers capable of identifying the origin of her comments. That
privacy certainly is her privilege. I perceived her complexity of
being shy and introverted; definitely more mature than most her age, and a
mental sponge to wisdom.
There are two types of
people on this planet – those which haven’t written a book, and authors. To
Kaitlyn, I congratulate you on your accomplishment. I certainly
believe she will aspire towards literary grandeur in other genres, as well as
continuing her introspective poetry. This
book is a wonderful gift item; one that teenagers in particular will find
contemporary to their own emotional challenges. As her portrait on the
cover reveals half of her face, she allows half of her book to be filled in by
the reader; needing only a pen to complete their experience.
Buy this book at Amazon.com
