Before 22: Stories and Poetry Composed Before the Age of Twenty Two

By Amanda Ashley Herman

Before 22 is a collection of short stories and poetry that bring together sentiments of youth and hope and innocence, reminding us of a time within all of us when the world was new and bursting with possibility. In An American Tradition, the struggles of an immigrant family at the turn of the last century are viewed through the lens of a single day, Thanksgiving Day. In Winters End, an orphaned little girl stumbles on a new friend, a long buried secret, and grows to fulfill her lifes purpose while aiding others in the resolution of a tragedy. The volume is filled out with samples of poetry grappling with such complexities as time and change and what it means to exist. Touching and inspirational, Before 22 presents a young but by no means feeble voice.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Sep 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512796964

Amanda Ashley Herman

For Amanda Ashley Herman, the ability to form intelligible words was always a formality as a storyteller, her passion for a well told story and creative expression having begun as play-pen babbles. Now holding degrees in Creative Writing and Humanities, she has compiled her early writings into the volume you now hold in your hands. She lives surrounded by her loving and ever supportive family in Tucson, Az.

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Copyright © 2017 Amanda Ashley Herman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-9695-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-9696-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017911561

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/30/2017

Contents

Author’s Note

~ Preface ~

~ 2001 ~

Do You Hear What I Hear?

~ 2002 ~

Carrier of the Light: Prologue

Is ‘Thank You’ Enough?

~ 2003 ~

~ An American Tradition ~

~ 2005 ~

Pieces

A Placed Called Home

~ 2006 ~

~ Winter’s End ~

~ 2008 ~

In Expectation

Ode to Imagination

Musings on Time

The Playwright’s Love Letter

Time

A Good Reason to Smile

Ode to Equality: Every Grain of Sand

A Worthy Endeavor

To Please or Not To Please

To Touch a Star

~ 2010: Beyond 22 ~

The Wedding

The Space Between My Mind and Pen

The Promise

The Game of Telephone

A Sonnet

The Dream

Finally Free: A Sonnet

~ 2006 ~

The Journey

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Amanda, taken in 2001, one day before her fourteenth birthday

Author’s Note

To preserve the integrity of this collection’s inception I have chosen to publish it under my maiden name, Amanda Ashley Herman. It was the name I wore proudly while finding my voice in these creations and it is to her that all credit is due.

I dedicate this book to my parents, who always encouraged my pursuit of writing, and to my husband who continued what they started.

~ Preface ~

As I write this, I have a milestone birthday looming just months before me. I am on the precipice of thirty. At times such as this, when it feels one chapter is closing and another beginning, humans tend to wax nostalgic. Who did I want to be? What did I think I would be doing? How close did I come in my efforts so far to accomplishing what I have set out to do? We tend to weigh our accomplishments by this measure. All that I know looking back is that I am not who I was and that this current incarnation as well is only a temporary manifestation of me. I’m not nearly finished yet.

Combing through stacks of papers in an effort at collection maintenance, I happened upon some scribblings written by another version of me; the me that took up residence starting in my teen years through about the age of 22. Twenty two was a big year for me. It was the year when my youth definitively ended. It was the year I got married and moved into my own home with my new husband and suddenly I became responsible for his life as well as my own. I was finishing college and that required all of my creativity to be funneled into composing papers and presentations in pursuit of the ultimate goal, my degree. I went into a sort of shock, the newness of adulthood bearing down on me. The