When All Is Lost: Finding Heart In The Dark

by Michael Brant DeMaria

In DeMaria’s second book of poems, he documents a particularly painful and transformative decade in his life. From hurricane Ivan in 2004 that devastated his personal and professional life, to the death of his mother in 2015, he courageously explores the emotional darkness that visits all of us at one time or another. These poems arose as guidance for his soul, as if spoken by the deeper and wiser part of himself, that he is convinced we all have. The soul actually often speaks from within during our darkest times, when all appears lost. These poems are signals through the flame of living and dying, revealing how we can find heart in the deepest darkness of life by allowing the suffering to polish and transform us into a more authentic version of ourselves.

222 pages, Paperback

Published February 23, 2020

About the author

Dr. Michael DeMaria is an integrative wellness consultant, creative mentor, author, poet, speaker and 4-time Grammy® nominated recording artist and a contributing poet/composer on the Grammy® winning children's album, "All About Bullies Big and Small". Michael is a long time yoga/meditation teacher and the author and creator of the Peace Within Process™ for Integrative Wellness.

Michael's love of music started early when only seven-years-old, Michael began using music for his own healing from surgery trauma. From the beginning Michael found true joy in improvising and creating his own music. He loved how creating sounds helped him feel more alive and at times even took him to another world.

Michael's love of writing began in his teens when he found personal healing in journaling and writing poetry. This theme of creativity fostering the healing process he later explored academically receiving two bachelors, a masters and doctorate in clinical psychology by the age of 25. He went on to publish and present numerous papers on the role creativity, nature and spirituality play in the healing process nationally and internationally. He is the author of Horns and Halos (1992), Ever Flowing On (2001), Moments (2008), Peace Within: Clear your mind, open your heart, embrace your soul and heal your life (2016), and When All Is Lost: Finding heart in the dark (2020).

As a playwright, Michael's first full length play, Café Mezzo opened to rave reviews in 2007 and was chosen as the best play of the year for the Loblolly Theatre. His second full length play, co-written with Stephen Lott, Siyotanka also opened to exceptional reviews and garnered 7 Crystal Awards including Michael receiving a Crystal Award for his original musical score and live performance of the soundtrack. Michael and Stephen went on to collaborate on another full length play The Maiden of Stonehenge that had its world premiere in 2012. Both sounds tracks reached #1 on the ZMR chart and won multiple awards including Siyotanka winning a Native American Music Award, a ZMR Award and became Michael's first Grammy® nomination. The Maiden of Stonehenge went on to win Best World Music Album of 2013. Michael has won 8 ZMR Awards to date, including Album of the Year. His last 5 albums have also all gone to number 1 on the ZMR Chart. His music is heard on Eckhart Tolle's "Music for Inner Stillness", Noah Levine's "Kind Awareness" and Mark Nepo's audio series "Reduced To Joy" and "Inside the Miracle." Michael's most recent album was a collaboration with 11-time Grammy® nominee Peter Kater on the Sounds True Label, Heart of Silence. His music is now heard over a million times a week around the world.

Michael continues to find poetry as great a solace as music in his life and believes as Mark Nepo that poetry is, "the unexpected utterance of the soul" and has a great potential for healing and teaching the poet as much as the reader.