This collection of poetry is a testament to the powerful, life-saving grace of chosen kinship and the triumph of breaking the generational cycles of dysfunction and abuse. It is the record of the excavation of an authentic self. It's the sound of a voice insisting on love, presence, and joy. To the reader, I hope you find connection to your own struggle, your own shield, and your own hard-earned victory within these lines. May these glimmers of the human condition from my place in the world encourage you to trim the thorny wildness that blocks your path, claim your inner light, and bravely cultivate the stillness of your own healing sanctuary.