“Poetry is the voice of the soul, and in this beautiful collection, Colette Lafia brings us into the joys and sorrows of life, revealing how God's enduring love is present in all we experience.”

“These pages carry us into the ‘deeper waters of Love.’ With poetry, prayer, and simple invitations to listen, reflect, respond, and rest, Colette Lafia leads us into meditative spaces in which we, too, can ‘turn toward the ever-evolving shape of life.’ Leaving the Shore is a whole-hearted invitation to deepen our own practice of opening to the ‘divine rippling through everything.’”

“Though Colette Lafia confesses early on in Leaving the Shore, ‘I keep forgetting—/my holiness, my wholeness,’ her poems and invitations to explore the divine help bring us back to our own full presence in our world, remembering all that is worthy of worship. In these poems, the worn and dented kitchen table becomes an altar, and the simple act of changing clothes in front of a mirror leads to both revelation and breakthrough: ‘I see you. / I see you.’ Above all, through Lafia’s gentle guidance, we come to see ourselves in her generous words, and can hear again, in the sacred quiet this book holds for us, ‘the One Love in everything.’”

“From the Psalms to Mary Oliver, there’s a long tradition of integrating prayer and poetry — and Colette Lafia’s thoughtful and insightful collection of prayerful poems invites us into that meditative space where lyrical language meets the deepest yearnings of the soul. Leaving the Shore invites us to discover that place in our hearts where creativity and contemplation come together.”

“These lovely, contemplative poems and prose pieces lead us gently ‘offshore’ into deep waters of prayer and spiritual reflection. Accompanied by questions and prompts that invite us to explore and experiment, they model, invite, inspire, and sometimes compel readers, as lectio divina does, to follow where the Spirit leads.”

“This lovely book is full of quiet spaces and tender moments where your soul can rest for a while and be. Colette invites her reader to listen in various ways that are both ancient and also feel fresh and insightful. The world needs more poets, more people who can listen and see attuned to the deeper reality. This book opens the door.”

“When you find a poet who captures your deepest human/spiritual aspirations, you feel more alive and less alone, fortified through companionship. That's how I felt reading Colette Lafia's beautiful collection, Leaving the Shore.”