W.H. Shirk’s New Book Looks at Pastor’s Life Through Poetry
WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (PRWEB) August 07, 2015 -- Author W.H. Shirk has witnessed life at its best and at its worst in his years serving as a pastor and hospital chaplain. His new book, “Looking Over My Shoulder: One Day in the Elevator and Welcome to Anhedonia” (published by iUniverse), provides readers with two collections of verse highlighting a pastor’s life work and personal journey.
Shirk’s first collection in “Looking Over My Shoulder” is comprised of short, poignant, honest and sometimes amusing snapshots that comment on a variety of subjects, including career ministry, children, gardening, hunting, headaches and more.
The second collection chronicles his personal spiritual journey, beginning in a troubled and broken home and leading to the churches and hospitals of western Pennsylvania. Despite a career path that might suggest a special closeness to God, Shirk felt himself increasingly estranged. In this second collection, Shirk provides a glimpse into his struggle and how he found the strength to move forward into a richer experience of life.
“Our society is becoming more and more a society composed of persons suffering from some degree of mental dysfunction,” Shirk says, “perhaps caused by the complexity of modern life itself in an age of unprecedented and sometimes bewildering changes, each wandering around looking for satisfaction and fulfillment; maybe this book can shed some light, add to the discussion, help someone navigate the troubled waters of modern civilization.”
“Looking Over My Shoulder”
By W.H. Shirk
Softcover | 5 x 8 in | 118 pages | ISBN 9781491760826
E-Book | 118 pages | ISBN 9781491760819
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble
About the Author
W.H. Shirk is a retired pastor and institutional chaplain. He earned a bachelor’s degree in speech from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. His poems have been published in several periodicals and an anthology. He lives with his wife, Kathy, in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania.
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