Author and poet Kathryn Carole Ellison’s nine beautiful books of poetry are a result of a lifetime of writing-first as a journalist. Then, because she had some life lessons to share with her children, she chose poetry as a means of communicating.

Her books-Celebrations, Heartstrings, Inspirations, Sanctuary, Awakenings, Sojourns, Gratitude, Tapestry, Milestones, Beginnings, Horizons and Moments-contain poems from a collection written over a span of 43 years. The Poems of Life and Love are as fresh and relevant today as they were when she first wrote them. She has also created a Journal titled Gifts of Life and Love.

Ellison began writing poetry for her children in the 1970s when they were reaching the age of reason, and she was leaving an abusive marriage, becoming a single parent, and overcoming alcohol addiction. She wanted to share life’s lessons and words of wisdom with her them. Poetry was her way to communicate with her teenage children to help them make good decisions in life, without a barrage of words and lectures that would fall on deaf ears.

And so, the Advent Poems began. Ellison gave her children one new poem a day during Advent, along with a trinket. More than 40 years later, her grown children still look forward to each Advent season to receiving her poems. In total, Ellison has penned more than 600 inspirational and wisdom-filled poems for living a more joy-filled life and overcoming every-day challenges.

After Ellison’s second husband died of Alzheimer’s disease in 2008, she decided it was time to share her poetry with the world. In 2014, at the age of 75, she started a business and began the journey into the world of publishing and fulfilling her life’s purpose. Ellison wants to share the message that it’s never too late to pursue one’s dreams. She believes the philosophy that you can be old at 30, or young at 90 -that it’s all up to us.

And she believes there is no better time than now to share the poems with the world at large. The present, broken world needs some good-old fashioned lessons in kindness, civility and common sense.