This book expressed only a fraction of the emotions that I have felt in my childhood into early adulthood. I grew up with a strong loving mother who tried to hide the fact that she was stuck in an abusive relationship with my father. He was a detached and emotionally unavailable father who struggles with substance abuse. Growing up, I remember slowly understanding how my father’s actions were not deemed positive or appropriate behavior as a husband or a father, and began to feel closed off to friends around me who had positive interactions with their dads. In trying to seek reason or escape, I found comfort in reading novels, as well as poetry, and realized that I was not alone. In words and connection, there is learning, understanding, and growth. This poetry book is about the things that shouldn’t have happened but did, and the things that I prayed for that came true. It is about the growing pains as we women age, and the beautiful love we get to explore in the healing process, as well as the relationships that blossom out of girlhood. This is Roses, Thorns and Buffalos and I am so glad that you’re here.

The name Roses, Thorns, and Buffalos came from the idea of rose, bud, thorn. In college, my soccer teammates would always ask what each of our rose, thorn, and buffalo was that day. Rose stood for something good that happened, thorn stood for something bad, and buffalo stood for an embarrassing or weird thought you had that day. I decided to use this beautiful memory for the title of my book because each day is filled with the good, the bad, and the weird.