a tender force: poems

by Melissa Joseph

a tender force is a volume of 100 powerful and moving poems by melissa joseph covering topics of tenderness, suffering, connection, sensuality, doubt, disconnection, sensibility, insight, becoming, darkness, infatuation and ordinary things. "Each poem in this collection is an exquisite and well-crafted facet of life. There is much wisdom to be found here."---Sharon Salzburg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness

188 pages, Paperback

Published August 28, 2018

About the author

Baxter is an 18-year-old rescue dog. Melissa Joseph adopted him right before he was to be euthanized when he was two years old. About four years ago, he became a certified therapy dog. He comforts patients at San Diego Hospice and Palomar Pomerado Hospital in San Diego, where he lives with his owners, Melissa Joseph and Dennis Bussey.

As well as volunteering with Baxter, Melissa Joseph is an adjunct teacher of writing and literature. Originally from Jackson, Mississippi, she currently lives in San Diego with Baxter and her husband, Dennis.

Dennis Bussey took all the photographs in Moments with Baxter while volunteering at San Diego Hospice and the institute for Palliative Medicine. He also volunteers at Palomar Pomerado Hospital.

Reviews

[Cherie Kephart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, delicate, and full of entrancing verses. It is surely a tender place to rest our eyes and our hearts, to be more connected to something much deeper than the veil of the mundane we are living. Beautiful and touching.