Turn Me Into a Song

Turn Me Into a Song is a trail of poems in the wake of one woman's retirement from teaching and move from Philadelphia to Boise. From the very first poem, Pool-hopping, Mrs. Madden introduces us to her irreverent side, her Catholic school up-bringing, her nostalgia for her old border collie, and her crazy college days. She devotes a chapter to her lasting love for her husband, who died by suicide when Mrs. Madden was 41. The aptly named chapter, Our Mother of Sorrows, portrays a daughter's love for her complicated mother who has dementia. Irony and silliness entertain us in the stories her poems tell; about a dog named Scrapple who chases away a no-good boyfriend, about lessons we can learn from baboons, and about a ghost doing shots with a squirrel. Enjoy Madden's advice to her former student on how to cope with life, discern the real from the fake, and follow the right person's footsteps. As you read you will meet a cute cowboy, a hero old-lady, the local truck mechanic, Philadelphia sports fans and neighborhood dogs. You will visit the famous Gaudi cathedral in Spain, the cobblestones of Venice, an alley of trees in Paris, and the sun-soaked foothills of south-western Idaho. Come face to face with regret, aging, death, and invisibility. Cheer the soul with equally strong poems on the joys of riding a bike, listening to a baseball game, or playing make-believe with a child. Laugh out loud at Mrs. Madden's take on war: ( It kills hot guys), religion: ( show up with a gift in hand and a name like Balthazar, I think these are the wisest tips the Bible's had so far), and old love: ( ...could I be your one, your one that got away? I know that's not how it went down, but can we change the story 'round?). Ever-present through-out the book is the author's deep connection to music, (especially those Texas songwriters) and she writes many poems in the manner of a country song. Connect with the universal in Anne Madden's sincere poetry and if you have any musical ability, turn it into a song!