The Woman Who Named Herself

About the Book

This is Ruth Zachary’s fi rst book. It was meant to especially honor lesbian women who have named themselves to proclaim their identity and gender preference. The book is organized according to transitions from early experience to later life. Her poems speak tenderly of the fi rst expressions of loving a woman, the passionate encounters with others in relationships, struggles within society, the excruciating pain of loss, and other issues. Often delivered in rich metaphoric language, they deal with vulnerabilities, strengths, depths of love, and issues of community.

About the Author

This third collection of Poems by Ruth Zachary expresses a variety of experiences of Spirit, drawing from her own exposure to multicultural traditions. Ms. Zachary shares her ideas through poetry, because the metaphoric nature and process of poetry is closely related to the experience of Spirit. Her writing explores aspects of life purpose, life lessons, growth, ethics, dealing with difficulty, matters of death or life as well as many other spiritual issues, such as the experience of synchronicity and symbols in life experience. Her poems are offered as examples s of spiritual issues, but are not advocated as a way of life for others. She offers more questions than conclusions. Her attitude toward spiritual questions is to have an open mind and to keep the door open regarding that which is unknown. Her poems were organized within an outline in the Contents. She assumes each person’s Spiritual path is an entirely individual and personal process. Even still, she shares her questions and challenges, with openness and honesty. Ms. Zachary has been a social worker, an artist and a writer. She was a News Reporter in a suburb of Grand Rapids, MI for seven years until she moved to Colorado. She continues to exhibit her artwork and write, and is active with local art and writing groups that encourage both interests.