Opening the Gates of the Heart: Images that Heal & the Stories Behind Them, 2nd Edition is a "...magnificent gem of a book, " according to reader, Norm Tedford, copyeditor. If you are looking for peace and freedom in a stressful and chaotic life, this is your book. Part I of the book, Opening the Gates of the Heart: A Journey of Healing, is incorporated in its entirety in the 2nd Edition. From Part I, you have the opportunity to explore feelings in response to photo/verse couplets. You begin to heal with gentle and compassionate, yet, powerful and empowering prose poetry that is thought-evoking, questioning, and soothing. Part II begins after Part I ends at the point that Promise of Peace is reached. Part II contains the stories behind the photo shoot of each gate.


If you are looking for a book that brings you great growth and peace of mind, Opening the Gates of the Heart is that book. If you desire a book that is spiritual in nature, this is your book. In fact, the 1st Edition of the book, Opening the Gates of the Heart: A Journey of Healing, won a Silver Medal for World Peace in the 2018 Living Now Evergreen Book Awards. The 2nd Edition, with subtitle Images that Heal & the Stories Behind Them, won a Bronze Medal for Spiritual Healing in the 2022 Global Book Awards.


There are forty-three couplets in this book, each consisting of a photograph of a wrought iron gate the author took, coupled with inspiring and thought-evoking prose poetry she wrote. This book is based on her life and the transformation she experienced as she grew from a thirty-year resentment, to peace, free from resentment. She now lives in a state of gratitude and positivity. The journey traveled by the author is mirrored in Opening the Gates of the Heart. You, too, can discover from this book the places of peace, gratitude, and positivity that she has uncovered.


According to the author, Opening the Gates of the Heart is a Divine creation. This is because three-quarters of the prose poetry was written a few years before the gates were even discovered and photographed. Yet, the words in the verses give voice to the photograph with which the words are paired. For example, the first couplet with photo Webs of Fear, was named this because of the scene of spider webs covering the spires of a gate. It, along with twenty other images, was titled so the image could be framed and sold to a gallery.


One morning while journaling, the author wrote, "I have spent a lifetime spinning webs of terror and shame between the spires that stand as sentinels to my heart." When she wrote this, she almost fell off of her chair! These powerful words gave voice to the photograph, Webs of Fear, that had just been titled two weeks earlier! This discovery led the author to search her ten journals for verses that were meaningful and spiritual in nature. Then she paired verbatim the words with appropriate images. In fact, nearly three-quarters of the book's forty-three verses were located in journals and gave voice to corresponding images. Furthermore, the words were written in the author's journal a few years before she discovered and photographed the gates. That is the magic of this book - words of great depth came during journaling sessions, and several years later, photographs showed up that portrayed the words in action. This is the work of the Divine. May it lead to your peace of mind and freedom of heart.