She turned her pain into poetry, and later a publication of her life's work. Brenda Marie Herrera launched her first book of poems today titled "Reflections and Meditations", inspired by a look back on her life, and what she did to get through it. Jomarie Lanza has this story.
Brenda Marie Herrera made her debut today as an author of her first book of poems titled Reflections and Meditations, a collection of works inspired by 30 years of struggles and challenges she has faced progressing through life. Herrera, a former educator and librarian, chose the Leo Bradley Library to host the launch. She told us what readers can expect:
Brenda Marie Herrera, Author of "Reflections & Meditations"
"Well I have started writing this book for over 30 years and I never realized that I would be writing a book as such. What I used to do because of all the struggles I was going through I found peace in writing so I used to write either letters to God or Poetry and I stored them. Over the years I have decided that I need to publish this book after going through the poems for many occasions I decided I need to share because I know that there are many people out there who are going through difficulties and they don't know how to overcome the challenges, or where to go so I figured in my mind like hey if I share these poems then they will know they are not alone in this life. I can find something to do in order for me to overcome these stresses so that is the main reason why decided to put the book into poetry and get it out there."
Herrera hopes that through her experiences she will inspire headers to make the right choices for themselves even in times of adversity. We asked her about the most significant moments in her life that have influenced her poetry.
Brenda Marie Herrera, Author of "Reflections & Meditations"
"The biggest one is domestic abuse. That is very tough one because many people both males and females live in these situations and they say nothing they need to try and figure out what is the best way out of this situation and one thing I want to say about that part domestic abuse not because you are in it you are supposed to stick to it you need to learn to figure what is best for you the choice is yours so you don't just stay in a relationship because you want to stay in it there are different reasons why we stay in it. So give yourself a break and don't stick to these relationships if you see abuse there is not going to be a change. I have lived it for 30 years and I always had hope that there was going to be change but there was a different change not the change I had wanted. So in my case it went from physical abuse women, drugs, alcohol it just changed from one thing to another so when it comes to that my advice would be to get out of a relationship that has domestic violence."
Her book can be purchased at Angelus Press, Brodies, and Reimers Feed Mill. Or you can reach out to her at 6346113 for a copy.
