Even as her poems pull towards hope, Coombs is unafraid to say what must be said, unafraid to ask "Where did she go, the woman I used to be?" She lets want and taut and haughtiness rhyme each other, and home and moaned. She explores winter where the thaw draws near faster than expected and spring where March feels like the apocalypse. Between them is the journey where she sees what others may not, and she is "as happy as I've been in months." "An amplitude of tenderness stirs the night." These are real poems.
-Tom Montag, author, Seventy at Seventy, and The Big Book of Ben Zen Margaret Coombs reveals her vulnerabilities and her rise to confidence as she expresses the seasons' influence on her womanhood. Her poetry is powerful, astute, and triumphant. At times, the poems leave a sadness, which is paired with an overarching hopefulness. Coombs lets us see glimpses of herself as an example of humanity in the enormity of creation. Her language is profoundly feminine in its grace-"My waterfall of hair swings as I bend"-and in its strength-"The woman I used to be, always / obeying the impulse to slip away." There is much to love in this bold and daring collection. The reader feels her fear and bravery-"Strangers wander through my dream, the fragmented dream of the overnight / passenger protected by her faith."
Finding the Warm Breast of Self is a testament for all fierce women.
-Tara Huck, author, Just a Place Along the Way, and Stress Fracture. 
