Drawn From Reality by Rachel Hubbell

A couple of weeks before I was married my father called to tell me that he had been in contact with a daughter that none of his children had ever met. Long story short... he was married to a woman before my mother. They had a child. They divorced. He never saw her again. The only picture we had of her was from when she was two.

Her name was Becky.

Becky kind of floated into our lives with no warning. She attended my wedding with our father; it was awkward with it being our first meeting and all. She eventually packed her things from Pennsylvania and moved to the Oregon Coast. She bought a house and had my father move in... and she created a family unit out of a family that never really existed.

We all grew to love Becky. She was wonderful, really. Always giving. Always wanting us to grow closer as a family; to forget the past and start new.

In all honesty, it was the greatest three years of my life.

Becky was diagnosed with colon cancer and died three years after she had become a true part of the family. It was heart breaking. For a family that was still struggling from the loss of a wife and mother several, several years before, Becky's death became a reminder, for some, of all the bad in the world. 

I think Becky knew that we'd become discouraged. I think she knew that she was the only thing that was making us function as a family. And I think she knew deep down that she couldn't keep us united as a family after she died, but could at least give us a part of her to keep with us as a reminder of how good things used to be...

She created books for us that held her poetry, personal thoughts, journal entries and pictures that she would doodle.  I love my copies and I still find myself reading through the pages and remembering the few activities that we did spend together as a family. It's a nice reminder to have and it also helps with those days when I'm looking for a little extra something to get me through the day.

Drawn From Reality by Rachel Hubbell is a collection of poems and personal thoughts born out of personal struggle and perseverance.  Extremely moving, this collection is full of one woman's love and excitement for the opportunity to just live life.  Rachel Hubbell has battled breast cancer twice, and now struggles with life as a woman living with Lupus Nephritis.

With many uplifting thoughts and poems to choose from, FOREVER, was the one that touched me the most.

today is different enveloped inside of assurance,

of days gone by

repetition is eventful

repetition is known

tomorrow is the same

enclosed inside of regret for future days to come

repetition is eventful

repetition is known

looking through the eyes of the unborn

knowing not what the future will hold

if any at all

repetition is inevitable

repetition is the end...

ever moving forward,

uncertainty all around

unable to stop...

venturing ever forward

the future, past and present

the unknown synonymous with each other...

repetition

a term

which never

ends, never

ends

never

I'm touched by Rachel's collection of poetry because I know what it's like to struggle and endure and persevere and succeed. I'm touched by Rachel because of her excitement to live life and to share goodness with others.

And I'm touched by her simplicity. She shared this is about the "why" behind her writing...

I started writing at age 5 about the abuse I suffered at the hands of a family member and as a release it just flourished. When I had cancer twice and abusive marriages I poured it out into my poems in hopes that it would inspire and help others through any difficult times in their lives. It has been very cathartic for me and I write every day, I even carry a pad with me and recorder to document that inspiration in life.

Drawn by Reality is a wonderful collection of inspiring poems and thoughts and even come with pages available to encourage the reader to write their own. I think knowing some of the reasons behind why Rachel writes makes the collection that much more valuable to the reader. You can read more about Rachel Hubbell on her website at http://rachelhubbell.com/.