In 2013 I survived the Boston Marathon Bombing. First Light serves as a guide from the time of the bombing, to my life with PTSD, my experience with healing, relationships and motherhood. In the courtroom, I told the bomber that "I know one day I'll be a better mother and my husband a better father because we will show our children all that is good in this world; all there is to be thankful for." This collection is a tribute to that commitment and a testament to the idea that we can keep going.

Like a prism in a window trying to catch first light,

Or last light.

I'll wiggle and wrangle and wonder:

Why are my clues jumbled?

Why does first light and last night,

morning dew and evening mist-

Why do they all feel the same?

Imprisoned in a body that begs for its compass to right.

I keep searching.

For first, I mean last, I mean first light.