Brave As Thistles

We all have seasons along life's journey when we hit speed bumps; we put on a brave face and forge on. There are seasons when bravery needs time to grow, sometimes it isn't enough for the battle at hand, and sometimes it is there under the surface, waiting to emerge at just the opportune moment. This book of poetry explores and exposes such a season, times that require bravery through travel, loss, grief, illness, anxiety, and ultimately to reign triumphant in gratitude and new beginnings. If your life journey has brought you to a place where bravery is required, may you be like the thistle, delicate and beautiful, yet stubbornly tenacious and able to flourish in any season.

We all have seasons along life's journey when we hit speed bumps; we put on a brave face and forge on. There are seasons when bravery needs time to grow, sometimes it isn't enough for the battle at hand, and sometimes it is there under the surface, waiting to emerge at just the right moment. This book of poetry explores and exposes such a season that requires bravery through travel, loss, grief, illness, anxiety, and ultimately triumphs in gratitude and new beginnings. Brave as Thistles was inspired by a trip to the Highlands of Scotland where the author encountered the national emblem, the thistle. Scottish legend tells of a party of Scots warriors who were invaded by Norsemen. The Vikings removed their shoes and crept up to attack the sleeping Clansmen. One of the invaders trod on a spiky thistle and his anguished cry alerted the Scots to the attack. If your life journey has brought you to a place where bravery is required, may you be like the thistle, delicate and beautiful, yet tenacious and strong, able to flourish through any season.

Lauri Cruver Cherian is a writer and an educator, teaching English as a Second Language and Bilingual Education to children and adults for 30 years. She is a proud native of Washington State but has been transplanted to South Texas for the last 30 years. Lauri has a master's degree in Language Acquisition Education from the University of Houston and a bachelor's in Bilingual/Bicultural Education from Washington State University. Lauri has been a master teacher and a leader of workshops in adult ESL education across South Texas. She is the recipient of several teacher of the year awards including Bilingual Teacher of the Year for Spring Branch Independent School District in Houston, Texas. When she isn't writing stories or poems, she is volunteer teaching adult ESL in her community, participating in community theater, volunteering at the Center for Arts and Sciences and the Planetarium, playing the piano, singing, or traveling. Lauri and her husband have three adventuresome grown children and a chihuahua named Gracie. In October of 2022, Lauri published her debut chapbook of poetry called, Poems of the Point, a tribute to growing up on the beach in Washington.