Aspen Leaves in October: Poems of Life, Love, and Loss

My husband of nearly 20 years, Mike, died suddenly in 2006, at the age of 54. A year after his death, I took a Creative Writing class at the college where Mike had been president, Pueblo Community College. Taking the class was transformational. Being with college students, feeling energized by their youth, was just as healing as learning how to express my grief, and other ideas, through creative writing. My teacher, Jamie Bruss Patti, was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, and was very supportive of my writing. It was a great ego boost during a time of huge transition and opened the flood gates of unexpressed feelings of grief at the sudden loss of my husband.