First imagine a small child who triumphs over polio at the age of four. Has a mother with mental issues, survives a rocky marriage and then, ends up being a caregiver of a husband with COPD, and then both get a diagnosis of cancer on the same day. The husband diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the wife diagnosed with invasive bladder cancer. There is loss, grief, but it has a happy ending. Travel the road with the author on this journey. Author Sylvia Ramsey, 17-year plus bladder cancer survivor, says, “. Life has thrown a lot of rocks in the road along my journey, but as long as I have love, faith and hope, I shall not fear tomorrow nor tomorrow.”
First, I want to thank everyone who have read my books, as well as those who have helped and supported me along life's highway. My newest book, Traveling a Rocky Road with Love,Faith and Guts, is now available, and is about survival, faith and perseverance. It is my personal memoir, and it was inspired by a young man that has some very serious heart problems, and all the people I have met over the years as a teacher, mentor and a bladder cancer survivor. I have tried my best to encourage them, and to give them hope. To not give up on themselves or life. As I have traveled along life's highway, I keep running into people who have let the rocks that have been thrown in their life's road giving up on themselves, or life in general. The truth is that life is harsh, and it is not like the movies that give a false impression that it is smooth sailing. Being the hero that toughs it out and keeps on regardless of the situation is difficult, but with faith, it can be accomplished. It often takes a backbone, humor and a wishbone to survive it all.
Writing has always been a passion of Sylvia's. She began writing news and feature articles for a small town newspaper in Southeast Missouri at the age of nine. Because of the nurturing and encouragement by the news editor, she developed a love and a need to write.
By the time she was working on her graduate degree, several of her poems, short stories and feature articles had been published. Since that time, over one hundred of her short stories and poems have found their way into literary magazines. She has been a featured poet in several literary journals over the years. Later her writing extended into the realm of research in the field of Human Communication and her work has been published in journals such as The Arkansas Speech Association Journal, and The Speech Teachers Association of Missouri Journal.
Poetry has always been a very special and personal experience for Sylvia whether she is writing her own, or reading works of another poet. She feels that writing poetry over the years has provided her with insight and understanding of how to navigate the many peaks and valleys that are traveled along life's pathway. She was especially delighted after her book of poetry, Pulse Points of a Woman's World, was published, and was nominated for the Georgia 41st. Annual Author of the Year Award.
Growing up in a rural area of Missouri and being the child of a father born in 1898, she feels that her interpretation of life spans several generations. This influence can be recognized in both her poetry and her short stories. She has experienced life at many levels. One of her most prized possessions is a personal letter that was written to her by Rosemary A. Thurber giving her permission to adapt her father's short story "The Last Clock" to be used for Readers Theatre.
She is presently a Communications professor and the Academic Resource Center Coordinator at GMC Community College in Martinez, GA. She describes herself as a determined scrapper who will wrench all the very best from life that she capable of conquering. Her philosophy of life is reflected in her poems, "Armor For Survival" and "A Tired Vagabond."
She is a survivor of bladder cancer and looks at the experience as another learning peak in life. She is very much aware that even though this is the fifth most common cancer in the United States, it is very much underserved. She serves as the Vice-President of the American Bladder Cancer Society because she knows how important to provide support to those who have experienced this cancer, and how important it is to create more awareness across the country. That is why all of her royalties go to the American Bladder Cancer Society.
These are two reviews that I received on my book, Pulse Points of a Woman's World:
"I didn't know quite what to expect, but the title called to me, and I answered. Being an older woman, I was not sure I wanted to surrender myself to poetry that might expose emotions long hidden from myself and my world. I dared to enter into the author's world, and it was as if I had entered a time capsule of my own life. Cautiously, I proceeded only to find old tears still flowed, laughter rang out from hidden caverns of my memories, and once again I shared the merriment of happy days spent long ago. Ms. Ramsey's poetry enticed me down avenues long deserted, and once again they throbbed with life. Each line flowed like a life giving river refreshing memories and giving them a burst of life for a fleeting moment. I want to thank the author of this poetic collection for taking me where I had not dared to go on my own. Nor would I have been able to stir these ashes without her gifted pen. Thank you for this nostalgia. For indeed emotions that die when we forget, come to life when we remember. Thank you for helping me remember beauty and sorrow that I had forgotten. I hope many woman will find and dare to read this treasure that you, Sylvia Ramsey, have put into our 'woman's world'."
"What a perfect title for this book of poetry for us ladies. Entrapment - once I started I couldn't stop until I finished the book! Years were erased as I experienced childhood joys such as playing with cousins, friends, and by myself. Sorrows came to mind also but with more understanding of the situation, bringing a deeper peace of mind. Love, renewed, that was given by my parents, aunts, uncles, and especially a love that I share with the special man in my life. I read one of the poems to him over our cell phones as he is a truck driver. He loved it!!! What a wonderful way to express my feelings to him. The love of a mother that begins before and during the birth of her children that continues to grow through the passing years. This was a flashback in time that continued through to the present. Ms. Ramsey, I'm looking forward to seeing what you hold for us ladies concerning the future!"
