NEARLY 50

There was a time I would not have lit a fire, if there wasn t a man at home to tend to it. That worry wore off long ago, out of need. -Capanna One friend and then another commits suicide. Her partner has a heart attack. She comes face-to-face with a wolf in the wild. Her rescue dog bites her in the face. Her past intrudes in ways it can t be changed. Life is messy, and what, really, do any of us know about how to live it? Nearly Fifty is a collection of essays, written in real time, through which Paloma A. Capanna explores how she tried to make thoughtful decisions in the midst of chaos in order to keep moving forward in the pulse of her life. It is the story of everyone who faces decisions that can only be made based upon the available information at the time and the bits of wisdom collected over time. Even when there is no perfect solution, she illustrates the importance of making a choice with which one can go on living. In Paloma s questions lives wisdom. In her answers, wonder and compassion. This is a beautiful, honest, direct book. Open it and you will find yourself in a company of someone who is brave to live in the open. - Ilya Kaminsky, Poet, author of Dancing in Odessa, Musica Humana, and Deaf Nation, winner of the Pushcart Prize If you are looking for insight into a life well-lived, then you have come to the right place. Paloma brings you into her world with her eloquent speech and does not let you linger lest you might be bored. You don t want to miss out on any of her grand tidbits. - Larry Jaffe, Poet, author of Lying Half-Naked in the Doorway, founder of Poets Beyond Borders, and International Readings Coordinator for the United Nations Dialogue Through Poetry Week _,