Still Here, for Thou Art with Me

Book excerpt: Corinne Crowder's latest book of poems called Still Here, for Thou Art with Me was written when she was between the ages of twenty to thirty years old. Ms. Crowder's poems reflect a transparency into her many tormenting struggles . . . painful in their content, yet poignant in their honesty and sincerity. Along with sharing her battles, Ms. Crowder reveals a deep faith in the Lord and her dependency on God's grace, mercy, forgiveness, and restoration. Ms. Crowder continues to reveal her innermost being with the hope that sharing her life's difficult and arduous journey will be able to reach out to those who have been in her shoes and have also struggled in life whether it be mental illness, selfaEUR"harm, insecurities, delusions, physical illness, broken hearts and relationships, broken marriages, addictions, abuse of any kind-sexual or otherwise, imprisonment, rejection and abandonment, utter loneliness, nervous breakdowns, broken families, way too many nearaEUR"death experiences, some suicide attempts, lost in a battle with your faith, and being far from perfect and just wanting someone who understands. Her poems speak for those who may not know how to put their struggles into words. Let her words give you some comfort in knowing that she has gone through all of those things, and she is still here. The only reason she is still here is because she put her faith in Jesus when she was seven years old, and even though she fought with God, He has never left her and never will. She urges you to find comfort also in a relationship with God. It's never going to be perfect, and life will sometimes only seem to get harder. As this is being read she hopes she has left behind enough words in her poetry to help even just one soul out there. God bless.