In this book, I have combined two opposite components of my own soul – the sensitive and the strong. The poetry comes from a place deep within; a place that is vulnerable and sees the world with a vision that is uniquely mine. In choosing the poems for this book, I wanted to use only those verses that had candor and originality of voice. Anything that felt sentimental, banal, or seemed to be an imitation of someone else’s voice has been consigned to the shredder. The world will never know me by those words.

The photographs are representative of the strong part of me. When I critique my own work, the first question is not “Is it beautiful?” but rather “Is it strong?” I believe that beauty follows strength.

This book is a record, not of the way the world sees me, but of the way I see the world. They are a trace of me that I choose to leave behind.