I originally planned for this piece to be a self-published booklet, and writer friends agreed to write blurbs for the back cover. Since I no longer create publications, the story appears here, and two writers decided to let me use the testimonials online:
Ray Zimmerman’s “Tonic of the Wilderness” examines, without descending into sentimentality, his position as caretaker to his dying father. Intertwined with observances from the natural world, Zimmerman has crafted a descriptive and engaging work that reminds the reader that sorrow will make way for the restorative powers of nature if one will imbibe in its “tonic.”
KB Ballentine, Edge of the Echo, and The Light Tears Loose
Nestling into the story, Ray Zimmerman weaves tender and meticulous plaits of plain truths wheedle their way into my innards. Ray makes poetic sense of life’s most challenging processes to comprehend, coaxing the liquefied consciousness to coalesce, cleansed from meditation. The reunification of self into the whole is realized through Ray’s sage ponderings: “Another hiker, 100 years from now, may find solace in that same grove of hemlocks or joy in the motion of that same swinging bridge.” Another reader, even 100 years from now, may benefit from this reconnection with our essential nature.
Christine Hall, Editor, Sinew anthology from April Gloaming Publishing, Organizer, Poetry in the Brew, Nashville.
Ray. this is a beautiful essay, one to which I relate. I was blessed to have resources and assistance in the care of my parents, but that didn’t take away the emotional wear and tear in their situations. Prayer sustained me through many circumstances, and getting outside in natural settings uplifted me as the bright spot of many days.
Here is another blurb written by a poet friend.
In “The Tonic of Wilderness” and two accompanying poems, Ray Zimmerman shares heart-
warming and heart-wrenching words while he cared for his dad with progressive dementia and
turned to nature for relief and healing. His writing is a beautiful homage to his dad.
Suzanne Cottrell, author of Scarred Resilience and Nature Calls Outside My Window.
I originally planned for this piece to be a self-published booklet, and writer friends agreed to write blurbs for the back cover. Since I no longer create publications, the story appears here, and two writers decided to let me use the testimonials online:
Ray Zimmerman’s “Tonic of the Wilderness” examines, without descending into sentimentality, his position as caretaker to his dying father. Intertwined with observances from the natural world, Zimmerman has crafted a descriptive and engaging work that reminds the reader that sorrow will make way for the restorative powers of nature if one will imbibe in its “tonic.”
KB Ballentine, Edge of the Echo, and The Light Tears Loose
Nestling into the story, Ray Zimmerman weaves tender and meticulous plaits of plain truths wheedle their way into my innards. Ray makes poetic sense of life’s most challenging processes to comprehend, coaxing the liquefied consciousness to coalesce, cleansed from meditation. The reunification of self into the whole is realized through Ray’s sage ponderings: “Another hiker, 100 years from now, may find solace in that same grove of hemlocks or joy in the motion of that same swinging bridge.” Another reader, even 100 years from now, may benefit from this reconnection with our essential nature.
Christine Hall, Editor, Sinew anthology from April Gloaming Publishing, Organizer, Poetry in the Brew, Nashville.
Ray. this is a beautiful essay, one to which I relate. I was blessed to have resources and assistance in the care of my parents, but that didn’t take away the emotional wear and tear in their situations. Prayer sustained me through many circumstances, and getting outside in natural settings uplifted me as the bright spot of many days.