Klista Ali’s dream came true, at the same time her heart was breaking.
Publish America published her book, “Thoughts of an Amateur, Heart of a Poet,” as her family, including three young children, had to move.
They lost their home through foreclosure. There was no one to turn to for help.
She speaks of pain in her poem called “Debts:”
Wounded hearts are left to heal,
People you love find better deals.
Cost of concern,
A waste of time, People who you love change their mind.
Your hear a bond that slips away,
A love to fail with debts to pay.
Resettled in a Lake Stevens rental house, Ali has time to reflect on the delight of publishing.
“I did good, I think,” Ali said. “I sold it to the third place I sent it.”
That is good for a first time author.
“It is an amazing accomplishment for any person to have their work published and even more so for it to be my little sister,” said Jennifer McMillan. “She showed a sense of dedication that I am also proud of.”
Her sister is enthralled by the poems, seeing them in print.
“The passion each poem still evokes within me proves how powerful her insight is,” McMillan said. “Klista has always been the more reserved person in our family, so when I discovered she was writing, it seemed to be the natural path for her expression.”
By the way, the author said her father named her Klista because he loved the name he knew from someone in Wisconsin.
So what should have a been a wonderful time in her life was agonizing because their home was repossessed at the time her book was sold. Her husband lost his job at Boeing, which started the downhill slide. He also worked real estate on the side, and that boom went bust.
“This has been a humbling experience,” Ali said. “I can’t help but think that we are being pulled in this direction for an opening of doors in a greater direction.”
She reminds herself every day that what they lost in homeownership was material.
“I still have my family,” Ali said. “We still have our health.”
Showing such optimism, it’s a surprise to read her poetry about death, angst and lost loves.
“The book is absolutely dark,” she said. “I think I write about a lot of the things people feel about in their deepest, darkest moments, and things people are afraid to admit that they think about.”
She went through years of tough times, and trials, she said.
“I am naturally an overthinker,” Ali said. “Some of the poems are experiences of other people. I am able to put myself into their shoes very easily.”
Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com.
Buy her book
“Thoughts of an Amateur, Heart of a Poet,” by Klista Lyn Ali, is available at amazon.com.
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