Most of us these days feel a staggering amount of fatigue, and endless to-do lists take a toll on us. Seeking a sense of vitality often makes us feel like we are surrounded by a chaotic and highly secular environment. The desire for something more, for people, puts us on a stroll. T.J. Tomberlin’s award-winning collection, Beauty In The Branches, speaks grace into this yearning. The timeless, hungry poetry collection proclaims natural tenderness and seeks to expand our perception of the sacred. The book features unpretentious writing that is candid and direct. It illustrates and elevates the spirituality of the poetry of life, which can be found in the most humble yet exquisite gems found in nature. It reveals that the sacred is not the property of churches and temples. It shows that life itself is the temple.

Tomberlin's poetry exemplifies deep seeing. She speaks of looking closer to unearth the essence of a thing. A sermon within a sunset. Words of wisdom in a tree. Wonder in the ever-changing seasons. Such an endeavor is both intimately and deeply personal. The author is rooted in the Romantic tradition wherein, for centuries, poets have acted as spiritual guides through the aid of nature. From William Wordsworth's devotion to the Lake District's breathtaking landscapes to John Keats's belief in imagination's strength, the Romantics sought to uncover the presence of a higher meaning within nature.

The brilliance of Beauty In The Branches is the fact that the poems are emotional. In addition, they are grounded in a universally shared experience. To put things into perspective, the overworked individual sitting in traffic, the weary parent caught in an unending grind of work, and the person constantly seeking a moment of calm can all relate. The poetry in Beauty In The Branches is not overly esoteric or academic in nature.

“Now, my book functions as an effective aid for spiritual healing. It does not offer clear-cut rules and answers, but it does offer an invitation for contemplation and shifting one’s viewpoint. It is as if the poems project the reader’s inner world, and by doing this, they allow the reader to revisit their life’s journey. A poem regarding a tree that survives a storm can also be viewed as pondering one’s resilience. It is possible to reinterpret a lyric on the unvoiced strength of a seed yearning to grow into a contemplative view on hope and faith. 'If we only listen,' the anthology whispers, 'there is an invitation to attend to a greater reality that transcends us, and meaning, is in the process of unfolding.'

The book’s universal appeal is its overarching themes. Receiving the Global Book Award for Poetry, along with the acknowledgment from HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales, are not mere accolades; they serve as proof that this yearning for spiritual connection transcends borders, cultures, and societal frameworks. It is universally true. The Princess, like many of us, may have found solace in its pages and was drawn to them as they offered a refuge from the chaotic world around her, allowing her to consider life's more profound realities.

In the case of contemporary readers, Beauty in the Branches performs the function of a spiritual guide. It is much more than a collection of poems. It shows us that faith is not only about elaborate rituals. It is about consciously observing the sacred in the ordinary. It is the understanding that every moment, every object, and every part of our being can reveal a deeper truth. The writings of Tomberlin remind us that the search for the sacred does not have to take us to some distant place. The sacred is here, waiting for us to wake up to it—in a garden, a city sidewalk, or even in the depths of our own selves. The invitation of Tomberlin's is for us to glimpse the profound. These spiritual treasures, to the loud and bustling world, are the quietest of the quiet. All that is needed is your gaze.