Troy Gagne has lived every word in this collection.

For 29 years, he has walked alongside his wife through laughter and tears. Theirs is a love story written in ordinary days and quiet moments. Together they have raised three children, danced at their weddings, and prayed over their futures. He knows the joy of a full house and the ache of an empty nest. He understands the weight of providing for a family and the gift of watching them grow.

But Troy’s journey has not been without its trials. He has known the sting of empty pockets and the frustration of working-class blues. He has felt the weight of anxiety pressing down and the isolation of feeling invisible. He has walked the street called misery and questioned if things would ever get better.

Yet through it all, he has also discovered something powerful. He has found peace on a front-porch swing. He has found hope in the quiet hum of morning coffee. He has found grace at the foot of the cross. These experiences have shaped him. They have given him a poet’s eye for the beauty hidden in the broken and the strength to keep getting back up.

Troy writes the way he lives. With honesty. With humility. With a heart that has known both struggle and redemption. His poetry is a map of this journey. It is raw and deeply human. It does not pretend to have all the answers. Instead, it offers something more valuable. It offers company. It reminds us that we are not alone in our questions, our doubts, or our hopes.

This is not distant philosophy from a man who has never known hardship. This is real life, written down. This is a husband, a father, and a poet who has walked through the fire and found the ashes not the final word.

This is Troy Gagne.