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This intimate collection of storytelling and poetry captures the raw, beautiful, and sometimes messy truth of what it means to be a woman navigating life amidst all its changes.

Our book was written by five women who’ve lived through it all—heartache, triumph, trauma, and transformation—we’ve poured our souls into these pages.

Perhaps our words will resonate with you as they tickle a distant memory or feather your heart with light and laughter. Or maybe they will fill you with hope, knowing you are not alone in your struggles. Our souls tend to sigh with relief when someone’s truth causes us to say, “What, you, too?  I thought it was just me!”

PRAISE FOR SOMETHING HAS CHANGED

“This book took me by surprise.  I did not expect to journey so deeply and be so touched by the lives of each of these five women.

I felt as if I was transported from my reading chair and invited to sit with them by a warm fire.  Their sacred circle was where I witnessed their generous and brave truth-telling.

Deeply moved and emotionally connected, I felt myself weaving in and out of each woman’s life – shaken by some stories and soothed by others.

The images and experiences they share of love, loss, heartbreak, challenges and personal growth and transformation are profound. The writing is simply exquisite. 

The voices of each of these women will speak to your heart, nourish your soul, and leave you wanting more.

Such a privilege to sit with these beautiful women in their sacred circle. 

This is a must-read book and a gift to be treasured and savoured!«

 –Diane Krompart: Soul Coach and Mentor, MA, D.S.T.

“When women come together, it is a beautiful thing. When women write about their journeys and share their struggles, their successes, their joy, their wonder, it is amazing.

This collection of stories and poems highlights and exposes the complexity, the creativity, and the beauty of women. It is a glimpse inside their lives, seeing and feeling what these women have gone through. It is about growing through life, seeing the humor in what we do, understanding and accepting ourselves, and ultimately finding value in ourselves. These stories weren’t about me, but I could relate to many of the words, the meanings, the situations. It truly shows how connected we are.

The stories are rich with feeling, insight, and humor. Some lines that really stood out for me are:

«…stuff my colors back in the box…»
«time stretches out like a great lazy cat…»
«The hag, the crone, has arrived at a really bad time.»

Enjoy this beautifully written collection of stories… poems… words… that are so relatable. We are all on the same underlying path of trying to find our way.

‘If you keep your tears inside, you’ll never learn to fly.’

Beautiful advice.”

— Glenna Mageau: Multi-award-winning author and speaker, who writes nonfiction under her own name and suspense/thrillers under a penname; Maggie Thom. www.glennamageau.com

 “I just finished reading Something Has Changed, a collection of stories and poetry by five seasoned women reflecting on their lives and the challenges they have faced.

 It’s a gem! The abundance of emotion and the richness of language make this book a joy to read. I recommend it to anyone seeking inspiration.” 

— Ulla Håkanson: Author of The Price of Silence and Flight Across Waters – https://ullahakanson.com

“Something Has Changed—a fitting title.

Amid histories of trauma, loss, and struggles within the Self, these women ultimately chose patience, humour, and love over anger.

Living through difficult relationships, love gone sour, and unsettling adolescences, the Pen Pals writing group has embraced the changes in their lives, their legacies, and their futures

through their love of family, nature, and writing, as each author tells their truths in inspirational stories and poems.

A good rainbow read on a rainy day.”

–Lynn Tait: Author of You Break It You Buy It on Amazon (Guernica Editions 2023)

“The Pen Pals proudly demonstrate their talents as ‘the weavers of words’.

The authors share personal life challenges and experiences through compelling poetry, stories, haikus, and quotes that captivate and inspire the reader.

Something Has Changed is a must-read for women of all ages, and for those who want to understand the makings of true fortitude.”

–Sharon Easton: Storyteller, Presenter & Writer                                                        Author of Beach Moose & Amber: Finding My Jewish History

Poetry from Something Has Changed

COLOURS
By Micki Findlay
  
I am
an explosion of colours
burnt sienna, aquamarine, violet-red
my colours embarrass you
sometimes they leak out
as you spit grey
on rose-coloured glasses
 
craving approval
I stuff my colours back in the box
where dreams are held hostage
tears are swallowed
songs are unsung
 
secretly
I pluck them out, one by one
smooth wax fingers, sleeved in possibility
fragments of freedom
broken yet beautiful
 
leaves shimmer honey-yellow
fields pucker lavender kisses
blood-orange skies slouch into sapphire seas
 
I daydream inside a chrysalis
quivering anticipation
unzipping pallid skin
unfolding rainbow wings
 
then
 
a latch clicks
a hinge squeals
frozen fear clutches my throat
 
I quickly shove joy back in its box
breaking, collapsing, folding inward
under your shadow
 
I cough up ash and tears
fueled by your anger
an unwanted tattoo
staining my skin
 
stone cold, slate-grey
shoulders sag beneath the steel of your glare
forgetting who I am, who I was, how to smile
 
then
today
 
I pack up my tears
and fashion a boat
colour it grey then push it away
watching it drift
slinking, shrinking
into the mist of yesterday
 
my heart swells
the waves laugh
as I wash off the stains you left behind
inhaling sea air
its bracing hug
breathes me back to life
 
grey turns to blue
burnt sienna, aquamarine, violet-red
 
kaleidoscopes flood my mind
with childlike wonder
a promise of gentler times
the breath of new beginnings
 
now
 
I’m with him
he loves my colours
he even colours with me
no need to hide
unfiltered, unmuted, unstained
my wild heart
sings once more

___________________________________

ENCHANTED
By Debra Kuzbik
  
Eyes closed, sound asleep
Suddenly I could see my room through my eyelids
Outlined in electric blue by the sizzle of a lightning bolt
Followed too closely by a smack of thunder
That shuddered the windows and startled me awake
A thunderstorm had arrived
 
“Mom! Dad!” I cried out
“Shh, don’t wake everyone up,” Dad said
As he poked his head into my room
“Just count!”
 
Another lightning flash
A thousand and one
A thousand and two
Only two miles away
I whispered
“Let’s go outside and watch!”
 
Dad was a pilot
His passion was flying
Never happier than when he was soaring over the prairies
Swooping over northern lakes and forests
Or drifting among the clouds
Closer to his version of heaven
 
The moon, the solar system, galaxies and stars
He enchanted me with the magic and wonders of the Universe
As we watched the thunderstorms roll across the prairies
Every summer
 
As I write this little poem on a Saturday afternoon
I am suddenly startled by a single crack of thunder
 
Dad, is that you?
It must be
Who else could make me run to the window to see if a storm has arrived?
Who else could captivate me with the power of a thunderstorm?
Who else could enchant me with the miracle of being?
_______________________

DAY TO DAY
By Jacqui Townsend
  
I wake courageous
My plan for the day formed
Confident I have the time, energy and
Wit to face Whatever
The Whatever dwells close by
Awaiting my weaknesses
Readying attack!
 
What will it be today?
What fears to haunt me?
What challenge or opportunity?
Must I risk and face a danger or
Risk to achieve what’s at stake to
Arrive at an award?
Will I hear sad news or go to the aid
Of a frightened friend
Forget a promise
Hurt a loving heart?
 
So many tests to my resolve to
Conquer the day
I’m frail, human, so much
Can harm me
Do I have the right mindset
To calm any anxiety that will
Ambush me?
 
Am I foolishly brave
Adventurous - courageous?
 
I’m old enough now to
Tempt the Whatever
I’m strong, in control
I walk courageous

__________________________

BLANK
By Lynn McEwan
 
Misfired sound of silence
Deafening
Field of Dreams begins to fill
The white pages … and then
Blank
 
Writers fear of unknown
Divulging ideas, beliefs
Possible critiques, edits
Turn the page
 
Brush loaded
Hovering over white empty canvas
First line critical
And then
Interruption to the flow, paint dries
 
Shelves bulging with haberdashery
Cloth uncut, patterns playing out
In mindscapes
Will the product fit
After so many attempts in years
Incomplete
Between the sheets
 
Years of longing to find form
Solid rendering, companionship now
A comforting feline
Nestled between
Empty spaces
Blanks become blankets
Woven over a warmer spirit

________________________________

HIDINGS
By Ramona Jones
 
If I told you all my secrets
You’d be lying here with me
I made my bed, my choice a head
I’ll tell them to the sea
 
If you lay down all your hidings
My heart would weigh you down
And I would cry
And I would pry
So surely, we would drown
 
If we leave what can’t be said
To all the stony places
I’ll tell you some
You’ll tell me more
Our secrets washed up on the shore
 
We comb her hair between the herring roe
The seaweed, neatly folded over
You’ll move along ahead of me
Show me what I could not free
Our secrets to uncover.

Purchase Link for the eBook

Email: penpalsbook@outlook.com (When people email Pen Pals Publishing, they will receive the file. $10 CAD – can be paid by etransfer or Paypal.)

ABOUT THE PEN PALS

Debra Kuzbik

is an award-winning educator, author, and photographer. She holds Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Arts degrees from the University of Regina, as well as a Master of Education degree from the University of Saskatchewan.

After over thirty years as a teacher, education administrator, and Director of Education, Debra and her husband, John, retired from Saskatchewan to Vancouver Island, where two of their adult children also live. Their eldest son and his family reside in Saskatoon.

In addition to writing and photography, Debra enjoys creating art, gardening, yoga, traveling, and spending time with her grandson.

​Micki Findlay

Micki Findlay, an author, poet, and freelance columnist, focuses primarily on writing memoirs.

prose and poetry in hopes of helping others recognize their self-worth, find hope through difficult circumstances, and realize they are not alone in their struggles.

Micki’s writing has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Van Isle Poetry Collective, Black Press Media, various magazines, including Oasis Life and EyesOnBC, and several anthologies, including Back The Way We Came by The Memory Keepers, Crone Rising by Jazz House Publications, and Grateful by Quillkeepers Press.

Her poems, These Hands and If Given The Chance, won awards, and her story, ‘Too Late’, was a finalist in the Women on Writing 2024 non-fiction writing contest. Several of her poems were accepted for the 2024 Perth Poetry Festival’s Poetry on the Big Screen, at the Northbridge Piazza in Perth, Australia.

Micki lives to write and writes to live. Creativity, collaboration, and coffee are her love languages.

Jacqui Townsend​

Living alone now, in French Creek, BC,

Jacqui Townsend can look back, decade by decade, to Calgary – 1941, and write her life, chapter by chapter. All her growing-up moments work into her writings of today.

The ‘50’s are historically the best time to have been a teenager, and the ‘60’s – the best time, though early, to marry the love of her life, Bill Townsend.

They travelled, lived carefree, and emigrated to Australia where they began the ‘70’s with the birth of their son, David Warwick. Their return home to Canada, before the ‘bust ‘80’s’, brought the family to paradise on Vancouver Island.

From then to now, Jacqui has had a career in nursing, written two newspaper columns, published a cookbook, discovered a directorship at Elder College, published flash fiction and poetry, and learned to shape her thoughts into words with the encouragement of friends in her writing group, The Pen Pals.

Lynn McEwan

Born in the year of Hurricane Hazel, Lynn McEwan

has since circled her creative life as a traveller, parent, artist, and educator.

A former member of the Canadian Authors Association (Sarnia) and the Canadian Poetry Association, she had her writing published in Prairie Fire and Poemata.

As a proud Haudenosaunee woman, Lynn enjoys learning and sharing her heritage and experiences through both poetry and prose.​​

Ramona Jones

I’ve asked my stories and poems to stand up for themselves because I don’t have many writing credits to my name to prove I’m good. Because of a teacher, Debra Kuzbik, I joined a writer’s group that made room for me and my stories. Thanks to the writer and editor, Micki Findlay, I got an invitation to be in this book. I got my kicks, a pressure release, writing. I did study English Literature at SFU, but so long ago, so much forgotten. Please don’t hold me to that. Thanks for your time, limited and prized, it’s my pleasure.​​

HOW DID THE PEN PALS CONCEIVE OF THEIR BOOK?

​Nestled amid the wild, wistful beauty of Vancouver Island, a spirited group of seasoned women writers came together, bonded not just by a love of words but by a soul-deep sisterhood.

We’re not your average writing group—we’re a caffeine-fueled, tear-streaked, laugh-till-you-snort kind of tribe.

Our writing sessions are where secrets are whispered, dreams are dusted off, and joy is shared like chocolate (generously and often).

One day—between sips of caffeine and impromptu brainstorming, someone tossed out the idea:

“Hey, let’s write a book!” (Cue collective blinking.) We had no idea what we were getting into. But we leaned in—determined, inspired, and a little unsure, as we poured our collective voice onto the page.

After months of writing, rewriting, staring into the void, and valiantly battling rogue punctuation, Something Has Changed was born.

The Pen Pals Website: https://www.somethinghaschanged.ca 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/penpalsbook
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/penpalsbook