The Ways of Grace: A Book of Poems

"Expect loss and know that / tender eyes moisten / setting free / teardrops of humanity." This is just one of the many striking verses in this meditation on the beauty and grace found in the commonplace. From the loss of love, to a single, yellow flower screaming out to be seen, to the deepness of a tree’s roots, McCarthy challenges us to take time to notice the beauty, pain, immensity, and love in the very small moments of our lives. Read this collection of poems and you will want to notice more.

“Poetry enables the reader to see differently, deeper, reverently ... Michael McCarthy’s writings take the reader inside family, nature, sports, work, and life and death to see the hidden sacred, beauty, and spirit. Read The Ways of Grace slowly, imagine the scenes, and immerse in the mystery therein. Allow yourself to see differently.”
– Robert J. McCarty, Author of Raising Happy, Healthy, and Holy Teenagers: A Primer for Parents

“Michael McCarthy’s poems are like fine Shaker furniture: solid, graceful, clean lines and a simple honesty that are a pleasure to behold. These poems have a functional durability; my friends, family and students have been sitting with them for years.”
– Phil Marinelli, High School Teacher and Life Coach

“Truly Michael McCarthy has given us a beautiful collection of poems that are both accessible and deep. Each poem reveals the mystery of grace hidden in the ordinary. ‘It’s All Here,’ as he says. And he asks, ‘What about you?’ Will you enter into the ‘true communion’ of friendship and life? This book is a grace, drawing us into the mystery.”
– Connie Loos, Chair of the Religious Studies Department, St. John the Baptist High School