The American Poet Who Went Home Again is a very modern book but has drawn comparison to playwright Lillian Hellman’s classic memoir, Pentimento, and like that book it contains both illuminated self portraits and striking objective subject works. Internet book product pages point out that readers who enjoyed this have also liked title such as Ron Hall’s “Same Kind of Different as Me,” Immaculee Ilibagiza’s “Left to Tell,” and Tony Dungee’s “Quiet Strength.” All of these portray individuals coming to terms with challenging environments and circumstances, sometimes finding themselves greatly humbled in the process, and sometimes discovering reserves of grace and strength they never knew they had.

The book’s subtitle is “A mosaic of my soul at work,” and that just might be the best overall description of the book. One of the most unique features is poems describing the author but written by others. The book overall is extraordinary.