The Umbilical Universe

Through the prism of personal crises, Whitehill's poems mirror the flawed human search for connection. At the core of this collection are poems about a mother and her daughters and the poet's clash of competing realities-obligation to children versus the impulse to self-actualization.

"The book is my testament to the redeeming nature of love," the poet says. "Though my life has been rich in achievements and human relations, my one great regret is having fallen so short of being the mother I wanted to be. But writing the poems has been restorative, therapeutic. I didn't expect that, but it feels significant."