Simple Pleasures: A Tribute to Talia

Talia Carmel Ewing passed away unexpectedly in 1997 at the age of 19. She is (our family often refers to her in the present tense because we feel her spirit so strongly) the precious daughter of Alison and Tod Ewing and the wonderful sister of Angela Ewing-Boyd.

Shortly after Talia passed, Alison and I (Tod) were cleaning her room and found two notebooks under her bed. When we opened them we discovered that they were full of poetry. There ended up being close to fifty poems. Though we knew she had written some poetry we had no idea how much. At first we weren’t sure if she had written them all herself. Perhaps she had written some and copied some that were her favorites and created a sort of poetry journal. But as we read them more closely we realized that these indeed were from Talia. Some years later I decided to type them up and organize them on the computer.
Alison and I said one day we were going to publish them and now, thanks to the graciousness of AG Press, that time has come.

This book is dedicated to each of you who touched Talia’s life in the short 19 years she shared with us on this earthly plane. We are convinced that part of what made Talia such a unique and precious person is the ability so many had to recognize her gifts and be drawn to her. This started from the moment she was born with all the nurses, doctors, grandparents, aunties and uncles –
both biological and those who were related by the love connection. This love connection continued throughout her life with her many and diverse friends, her cousins, her teachers, counselors and confidants. You were the ones who brought out the whimsy, the humor, the compassion, wisdom and wonder that
made her who she was. Know that not everyone had this gift. Some were simply perplexed and put-off by her. But through the strength of her Faith and the love and appreciation you shared with her, she was able to, as she said, “make lemonade out of lemons” when she was ridiculed or ostracized. Those of you with whom we have lost touch with over the years remain dear to our hearts and we are confident that Talia continues her connection with you.

To share a flavor of Talia we have included a few short “memory” stories written by family members and friends. We realize we were unable to reach all of the people who may have had stories to share.

All proceeds from the book will be donated to charities and or other organizations we know or think Talia would have wanted to support.



With all our love,

Alison, (mother), Tod (father), and Angela (big sister)