About the Book

Spanning a lifetime’s worth of both blessings and hardship, Second Chances is an introspective poetry collection that delves deep into life’s ups and downs with moving insight. Author Kathleen Coughlin Dunn’s maturity of prose speaks of a life well lived and a truly creative heart.

Whether feeling alone and in pain or simply looking to rediscover the majestic beauty of the world around us, the wisdom in these lines is as comforting as it is thought-provoking. Second Chances has a great deal to offer its readers regardless of their personal backgrounds, or their “experience” with poetry, enabling each reader to find truth and solace within themselves.

About the Author

​Author Kathleen Coughlin Dunn worked in public relations and did quite a lot of writing as editor of employee publications for two different companies, and still more as a volunteer contributor to a local Catholic newspaper, but it wasn’t until she was in her sixties that she began nurturing her creative side by writing her first poem and picking up a paintbrush for the very first time, unleashing a creative side of herself that had been suppressed by circumstance and her own insecurities for far too long.

Although she’d never intended to write a book—and was initially writing these poems purely for her own edification—she soon found herself amazed by how much could be said with so few words and realized that (perhaps) her words could potentially help others who might be struggling to cope with this roller-coaster we call life.

Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Kathleen has lived there her entire life. Twice widowed, she has one daughter, who is married with two children, and four adult stepchildren, with spouses, children, and grandchildren of their own.

Bookstore

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Reviews

What a great deal of courage it must have taken to write such an honest set of poems and to share them. They are hard-hitting in spots and must certainly resonate with a lot of women. You have made such a success of handling the poetic forms. I hope we will have a chance to read more of your work. I particularly enjoyed reading the last part which gave us such a strong picture of the women in your family. Every line counted and made such individuals of each one. Thank you for the effort you must have put into this work. It resulted in a very fine book.
─Mary Ann ​Mongeau
Second Chances is poetry at its best. Kay Dunn's language and phrasing were living expressions of her life's experiences, and I felt a deep emotional response to each. Through her poetry, I felt I came to know Kay in ways that I had never imagined. Her poems captured Kay's resilience throughout her life, from her childhood to losses of loved ones, to the joys of travel, artistic expression, the love of children and grandchildren, and an appreciation for the simple joys of life most of us just may not see nor appreciate. Second Chances is a gift to us all.
─Larry ​Maltin
Your poetry book is quite profound, personal and deeply moving. Reading the chapters on New Beginnings and Pilgrimage, I feel I’m walking with you again. Your poems moved me to both joy and tears. Congratulations…what a cleansing! You’ve truly liberated yourself. 
─Paula ​Pedicelli
Congratulations again on Second Chances. It's collectively very powerful and we're enjoying it. Lots of great images and juxtapositions, as in the nurse log and the reprise of Following the Signs in On Leaving Santiago. And I appreciated your two excursions into others' points of view in From Duffy and From the Beyond. It's been tough for you and being so open about it has needed courage. Thank you for trusting us.
─Tim ​Merrett

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