A Tapestry of Life is the true story of a woman who, in her quest to fulfill her dreams and have the family that she had always imagined, struggled with pain, disillusionment and heartbreak but came through it with an understanding of the rich beauty of life. Like many young girls growing up in the 1950's and 1960's, Daphne had dreams of growing up, getting married and having a family. She had well-organized plans for her future. She did not have any concept of the roadblocks that she would encounter or the challenges that she would have to meet as she journeyed toward this goal. Through a diagnosis of infertility and decisions about fertility treatments, to pursuit of adoption, to marrying and acquiring step children, to eventually achieving a pregnancy and then to gaining a daughter through an informal foster care situation she eventually created her eclectic family. Despite her dreams of having children who transitioned easily into adulthood, her children each seemed to have some struggle to overcome. The family faced challenges including developmental disabilities, cancer, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, anorexia, bi-polar disorder and teen pregnancy. Over the years Daphne learned a lot and grew stronger. This is a story about perseverance and finding peace in the unpredictable nature of this life. The author's faith matured through the challenges and struggles and became the foundation on which her family developed. She found that with faith she did not need all the answers and she did not need to know the future. She learned that the path is not always clear but we can still enjoy the journey.

This book represents a tapestry of my life and the raw profound emotions of each situation that I was dealing with at each point of my life. Putting words down on paper made me acquire a sense of solace which in turn, came with a freedom of comfort. My collection of poems will resonate, with someone. Our voices were not made to be stifled and quieten down. They are made to be heard. Let us not be afraid of the dark to come into the light, let our dreams become reality, break our shackles, let us all rise like the phoenix from the ashes.This book is about the awareness of emotions in all aspects of our lives and learning how to find and explore our coping mechanisms. Moreover, not to be too afraid to discover our different ranges of inner moods. Therefore, look and seek help. Share our experiences, and capture each other's imaginations.About The Author: My name is Pauline Gilman nee Hanson, I was born in the parish of St Elizabeth, Jamaica. I am a mother of three fine young men and a grandmother to one grandson.My mother and father are from the Windrush era. I arrived in England in 1970 alongside my mother and sister, at the tender age of three years and some months old. We settled in the northern town of Huddersfield, where I remained until 1992. I then relocated to the south for several years before returning to the north in 2000.I have fond memories of writing in primary school especially writing poems. Unfortunately, my creative writing skills lay dormant until my late thirties when the love of writing started to energise me again.

Jean Pierre Larochette is a renowned top-level artist, making this opportunity to learn from him a treasure for all levels of weavers.