“These are provocative and eloquent essays, fierce meditations on our human capacities and frailties, the nature of memory, acts of forgiveness. Anesa Miller summons our better angels and makes firm reckonings with the devil, casting it away. A stunning collection.”
– Tiffany Midge author of The Woman Who Married a Bear (Salt Publishing) and Outlaws, Renegades and Saints; Diary of a Mixed-up Halfbreed (Greenfield Review Press)
“The world is blessed to have creative souls who write out of a need to make sense of what we experience when senseless things happen. Anesa is one of those people. …These essays reflect the healing of a fine poetic mind. They explore the inner life of an exceptional artist, intertwined with the history of our times, the lives of her family and friends, some of whom brought her joy, some misery. …Her moving thoughts come as a revelation…”
– From the Foreword by Jaak Panksepp author of The Archeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions (W. W. Norton & Company)
“I was blown away by these essays. Anesa Miller is very skilled in mixing angst, sorrow and joy. A few of them challenged me and offered much to ponder; others took me on a fascinating journey. They kept me wondering what would happen next. I loved the easy flow of the narrative, the detailed pictures that bring the story to life ““… cottonwood tree … “tossing her hair” against a windy night sky.”” Or “…a round knothole, thick-lidded and white like an elephant’s eye”.
My favorite essay in this collection is “Now I Lay You Down to Sleep”. She paints so beautifully the very painful experiences of her earlier life as she returns to her childhood home with her daughter to bring closure to the death of her estranged father. With total trust, she allows the reader to share in the experience.”
– Jan Veitch
“More than just poetry, Anesa’s words touch the heart with Truth. Seeing the world through her eyes, you gain new insight and awaken to feelings that may have laid buried or hidden away. She lifts the spirit stirs the emotions. You will want to read this again and again during your life and will come away time after time and wonder at the new places that you are transported to.”
– Manuel Fernandez
“”We are all eyes in the same head.’ This phrase has always held special meaning for me, as it succinctly describes the concept of humanities interconnectivity, while implicitly acknowledging a force greater than ourselves. The mechanism and purpose of these connections are less important than my belief in their existence, and on those rare occasions when I happen to cross paths with another who so clearly demonstrates pieces of myself I wish were more accessible to my conscious mind, I always stop and take note.
To Boldly Go is an intimate collection of essays and poetry which reveals layers of the human heart and mind reminiscent of Mark Twain’s picturesque style that so effortlessly brought to life small town America. Within its verses one can smell the lazy evening breezes blowing through the cottonwood trees, hear the faded laughter of a carefree childhood spent in dappled pools of sunlight, swimming, running, dancing to the rhythms of vibrant youth. These images are told in the context of a woman’s journey, and the thick thread of pain that connects all points along that journey stemming from the loss of a Mother to untimely death, and the loss of a Father whose powerful grief estranged him from his children. This tapestry has many threads, and their colors are masterfully woven into a depiction of Memory.”
– Stuart Sims