Read what others are saying about
Women, Resilient Women...
"Pat Durmon's poems are exquisite, to be savored and enjoyed one or two at a time like high quality chocolates or rare perfume. That's what I thought until I started reading WOMEN, RESILIENT WOMEN, which contains some of Pat's most clever use of language but is so much more than a collections of poems. It's a journey through life of women. The book has plot, which compels the readers to turn the pages and keep turning. I'm ordering one for my daughter and another for my sister-in-law for Mother's Day.” - Mary Cooke, April 4, 2018
"I absolutely loved it! I was experiencing each feeling/thought as I read the poems. Always, I was looking forward to the next poem. I could not stop reading! Of course her images took me back to my own childhood and growing into a woman. How difficult it is for many of us.
Some poems brought tears to my eyes as I related her memories to the circumstances I knew as a child going up, then as a woman maturing and dealing with other issues, joy, problems. I am an artist. I use a brush, but the poet paints with words. A wonderful book to give as a gift to your own children and friends." - Mary Chambers, April 7, 2018
"After my first reading through this book of poems about women, I was undone! Beginning with a line in the first poem, 'she touches holy ground with mind, body, soul.' Poems that stretch from the little girl scenes that float back to my girlhood memories, to living with courage in my old age. I feel strengthened and connected by Pat Durmon's words. Excellent work.” - Billie K. Miller, April 26, 2018
Read what others are saying about
Lights and Shadows in a Nursing Home...
Read what others are saying about
Lights and Shadows in a Nursing Home...
"This book takes you on a journey through the corridors of an enclosed world. In this collection, Pat Durmon shares personal memoirs about times with her mother during the last years. I was taken by how her mother’s wit and resilience tempered the dementia. The poet discovers that there is an art to growing old. I was moved by the wisdom found here—lessons taught, lessons learned.” - Harding Stedler, poet and editor
"This book takes you on a journey through the corridors of an enclosed world. In this collection, Pat Durmon shares personal memoirs about times with her mother during the last years. I was taken by how her mother’s wit and resilience tempered the dementia. The poet discovers that there is an art to growing old. I was moved by the wisdom found here—lessons taught, lessons learned.” - Harding Stedler, poet and editor
"A thoughtful gift for any family member dealing with long-term care facilities. Pat Durmon's Lights and Shadows in a Nursing Home is very real to me because my own mother spent seven years in an assisted-living and nursing facility, as she slowly faded. I bought two copies of the book. I sent one to my wonderful sister, who had the week-to-week responsibility of overseeing Mom's care, while I was only able to make the 750 mile visit three or four times a year. I only wish I had had this book during the time Mom was living, so I could have sorted out my own feelings and could have been more understanding of the challenges my sister faced on a daily basis. The audience for this book should include anyone caring for an elderly parent, in or out of a facility; medical personnel from CNA's to RN's (and even us physicians!); and the volunteers who give of their time caring for the elderly." - Dr. Ray Stahl, General Physician
"A thoughtful gift for any family member dealing with long-term care facilities. Pat Durmon's Lights and Shadows in a Nursing Home is very real to me because my own mother spent seven years in an assisted-living and nursing facility, as she slowly faded. I bought two copies of the book. I sent one to my wonderful sister, who had the week-to-week responsibility of overseeing Mom's care, while I was only able to make the 750 mile visit three or four times a year. I only wish I had had this book during the time Mom was living, so I could have sorted out my own feelings and could have been more understanding of the challenges my sister faced on a daily basis. The audience for this book should include anyone caring for an elderly parent, in or out of a facility; medical personnel from CNA's to RN's (and even us physicians!); and the volunteers who give of their time caring for the elderly." - Dr. Ray Stahl, General Physician
"Heartfelt, heart-touching poems - some will tickle you, some might cause a tear or two...all will enrich you and warm your heart with the honest observations of life in a nursing home. Pat Durmon tells it like it is - the good, the bad, the hard to handle...and she finds light and love in the residents there. Personally, I think every nursing home should not only have copies for staff and visitors, but these poems should be read by all who have a loved one living in a nursing home or are even thinking about placing someone in a nursing home. Precious book!!" - Diane Stefan, poet and daughter of a nursing home resident
"Heartfelt, heart-touching poems - some will tickle you, some might cause a tear or two...all will enrich you and warm your heart with the honest observations of life in a nursing home. Pat Durmon tells it like it is - the good, the bad, the hard to handle...and she finds light and love in the residents there. Personally, I think every nursing home should not only have copies for staff and visitors, but these poems should be read by all who have a loved one living in a nursing home or are even thinking about placing someone in a nursing home. Precious book!!" - Diane Stefan, poet and daughter of a nursing home resident
"Pat Durmon has a wonderful way with words. Powerful. Heartfelt. Insightful. The happenings she shares help to soothe the sadness and grief in me about my own aging mother." - Billie Kay Miller, daughter of a nursing home resident
"Pat Durmon has a wonderful way with words. Powerful. Heartfelt. Insightful. The happenings she shares help to soothe the sadness and grief in me about my own aging mother." - Billie Kay Miller, daughter of a nursing home resident
Jerry Strobel, long-term professional, recognizes the book as a portrayal of nursing home life: "Here, the reader is shown the nursing home world with dramatic and precise word pictures that evoke a range of emotions. She talks the talk because she has walked the walk."
Jerry Strobel, long-term professional, recognizes the book as a portrayal of nursing home life: "Here, the reader is shown the nursing home world with dramatic and precise word pictures that evoke a range of emotions. She talks the talk because she has walked the walk."
Read what others are saying about
Push Mountain Road...
Read what others are saying about
Push Mountain Road...
"Inspiring and Fun: I'm with those who read a poem one day at a time with morning coffee. Push Mountain Road for me is fun, wonderfully descriptive of Ozark life, and, most of all....inspirational! I LOVE this book for the gift of Pat Durmon's enriching, expanding and ennobling view of country life." - Jo Wolf, May 16, 2016
"Inspiring and Fun: I'm with those who read a poem one day at a time with morning coffee. Push Mountain Road for me is fun, wonderfully descriptive of Ozark life, and, most of all....inspirational! I LOVE this book for the gift of Pat Durmon's enriching, expanding and ennobling view of country life." - Jo Wolf, May 16, 2016
"Experience the seasons change on Push Mountain Road: Successfully captures and holds still, long enough for us to share, the beauty of transitory perceptions of one who is awake to life and the natural world of these Ozark hills. Simply the best considered lines I have enjoyed in a very long time." - R. C. Linkon, June 24, 2016
"Experience the seasons change on Push Mountain Road: Successfully captures and holds still, long enough for us to share, the beauty of transitory perceptions of one who is awake to life and the natural world of these Ozark hills. Simply the best considered lines I have enjoyed in a very long time." - R. C. Linkon, June 24, 2016
"I try to limit my reading to one poem at the end of my morning ritual of coffee, Bible or devotional reading, and prayer (most of this with the dog in my lap). In my first few days of this process I found the poems to be like a little serendipity event for the morning! Then, some of the daily poems started to be more intense, creating deeper thoughts. Good book! I recommend it." - David Perry, February 24, 2016
"I try to limit my reading to one poem at the end of my morning ritual of coffee, Bible or devotional reading, and prayer (most of this with the dog in my lap). In my first few days of this process I found the poems to be like a little serendipity event for the morning! Then, some of the daily poems started to be more intense, creating deeper thoughts. Good book! I recommend it." - David Perry, February 24, 2016
"Pat Durmon's Push Mountain Road Poetry is to reading what spice is to food. It's concentrated, and it is to be used a little at a time. The words appear effortless, but I have the feeling Pat selected them carefully. Each poem is to be read and reflected upon. The poems are too rich and flavorful to be absorbed quickly. Like spice, they give the world a new flavor.
"I downloaded the book onto my phone and read some of it as I rode through the hills of Mississippi and the delta of Louisiana last week. The poems took my mind to the mountains, and I kept remembering vacation trips to Arkansas in the past, when I wondered what the people in the houses in secluded areas must be thinking and how they must be living. Now I know.
"Spice in food takes the one eating it away from the bland boredom of plainness. In the same way, Pat's poems take the reader away from the mundane thoughts of an uneventful day. Pat has an interesting way of looking at the stuff around us.
"Her poetry does not contain belabored rhymes or singsong rhythms. It merely has a natural flow. It's the best of what poetry can be. It does not call attention to her craftiness, just as pleasant flavors in a sauce do not jump out and attack the taste buds. And her poems read well aloud. I read some to my husband as he drove down the road.
"If you need something to give you pleasant but perceptive thoughts at bedtime and to take you away from whatever worries the day has provided, I'd recommend reading two or three of Pat's poems. They work better for me than hot chocolate or herbal tea." - Mary Lou Cheatham, Author, The Dream Bucket, VINE VOICE, October 12, 2016
"Pat Durmon's Push Mountain Road Poetry is to reading what spice is to food. It's concentrated, and it is to be used a little at a time. The words appear effortless, but I have the feeling Pat selected them carefully. Each poem is to be read and reflected upon. The poems are too rich and flavorful to be absorbed quickly. Like spice, they give the world a new flavor.
"I downloaded the book onto my phone and read some of it as I rode through the hills of Mississippi and the delta of Louisiana last week. The poems took my mind to the mountains, and I kept remembering vacation trips to Arkansas in the past, when I wondered what the people in the houses in secluded areas must be thinking and how they must be living. Now I know.
"Spice in food takes the one eating it away from the bland boredom of plainness. In the same way, Pat's poems take the reader away from the mundane thoughts of an uneventful day. Pat has an interesting way of looking at the stuff around us.
"Her poetry does not contain belabored rhymes or singsong rhythms. It merely has a natural flow. It's the best of what poetry can be. It does not call attention to her craftiness, just as pleasant flavors in a sauce do not jump out and attack the taste buds. And her poems read well aloud. I read some to my husband as he drove down the road.
"If you need something to give you pleasant but perceptive thoughts at bedtime and to take you away from whatever worries the day has provided, I'd recommend reading two or three of Pat's poems. They work better for me than hot chocolate or herbal tea." - Mary Lou Cheatham, Author, The Dream Bucket, VINE VOICE, October 12, 2016
"Highway 341 is a generally north-south road in Baxter County in north central Arkansas. Its approximately 34 miles of length (with extensions) meander in the Arkansas Ozarks. The highway is also known as Push Mountain Road, and that’s the title poet Pat Durmon has given to her latest collection of poetry – Push Mountain Road (which certainly sounds more interesting, and poetic, than Highway 341).
"Comprised of 118 poems (and one introductory poem), the collection is a celebration – of people, nature, relationships, the everyday, the small things (like making the crust for a quiche), and the larger things (like sitting in a radiation waiting room). Durmon combines an almost childlike wonder with the wisdom gained through a lifetime of experience...
"The poems of Push Mountain Road are the poems of rest and refreshment, a place to come to and abide as the world’s craziness swirls around.” - Glynn Young, VINE VOICE, August 22, 2016
"Highway 341 is a generally north-south road in Baxter County in north central Arkansas. Its approximately 34 miles of length (with extensions) meander in the Arkansas Ozarks. The highway is also known as Push Mountain Road, and that’s the title poet Pat Durmon has given to her latest collection of poetry – Push Mountain Road (which certainly sounds more interesting, and poetic, than Highway 341).
"Comprised of 118 poems (and one introductory poem), the collection is a celebration – of people, nature, relationships, the everyday, the small things (like making the crust for a quiche), and the larger things (like sitting in a radiation waiting room). Durmon combines an almost childlike wonder with the wisdom gained through a lifetime of experience...
"The poems of Push Mountain Road are the poems of rest and refreshment, a place to come to and abide as the world’s craziness swirls around.” - Glynn Young, VINE VOICE, August 22, 2016