A collection of memories. Buy your copy! Amazon Amazon.co.uk Froogle Barnes & Noble.com About Me This collection was written over the months when my son was first born. The essays and poetry in this book reflect my thoughts on family, life, love, loss and learning to live from day to day. It's a book about life, living it, loving it and hopefully learning from it.  Excerpt CANDLE OF BEAUTY Outer beauty is the flame mesmerizing, bright, glowing hypnotically drawing us in. but it flickers and wavers disapperaring like a whisper. Inner beauty is the candle that gives the flame life providing it with the strength to deliver light and warmth to those within its sphere To eventually melt into a glistening pool only to be reshaped and molded back to its original form in order to pass on the flame. copyright debra conklin

A Must Read for Woman Approaching 40
June 2, 2006
Reviewer: Jacqueline Castaneda "Lover of Memoir's"
This memoir so was inspirational to me....

You constantly found yourself saying....oh yeah, that's me!

It is an eclectic combination of poems, thoughts and short stories on family, friends, motherhood and more.
We all have these stories in us....we can all relate.

This is a must have in every woman's library to share with your mother, your sister, your friends and someday your daughters.

I look forward to future writings from the author...Debra Conklin.


Talented Author
January 24, 2005
Reviewer: Susan Burns

Susan M. Burns, a home healthcare provider.

I read and finished this book the same day I recieved it and it was awesome! It really makes you sit back and think about where you are in life and the meaning of everything you've learned. Once you read this it will truly make you love life, never take a sunrise for granted or your baby's first steps. In the blink of an eye, it will disappear never to re-appear again.

The losses and gains in life and love are overwhelming at times, but this book helps put things in better perspective.




Learning From Experience
December 27, 2004
Reviewer: Robert D. Holt (Mantua, New Jersey United States)

Debra Conklin is a self-employed mother of three from Maine who has felt more than her share of the pains of youth and growing older. In "This Ain't Shakespeare," her first collection of poems and essays, Conklin shares her memories of younger days and shows her readers how to turn life into a continued learning experience.

Debra Conklin has included items in this collection to which any reader may relate during their life's experiences. Along with stories about child rearing and love of family, she takes an introspective look back at learning some of the wrong things from her father, and explains how she copes with the loss of a brother. She also relates humorous tales about her ongoing battle with an old washing machine, and reflects upon the excitement of not being as fat as she expected.

Then Conklin's strong imagery and perspective take readers right along with her as she paints beautiful pictures of life's often overlooked simple pleasures, like a walk through the woods and the dawning of a new day.

This collection is thoughtful, inspirational, and often amusing, and it is a credit to anyone who, like the author, maintains an undying drive to succeed. You really want to buy this book. It may not be Shakespeare, but this volume is an extremely worthwhile addition to anyone's bookshelf by a truly gifted new artist.