Judy Collins a well know performer and songwriter for the past 40 years offers her insights to the creative process in her newest book, Morning, Noon and Night: Living the Creative Life which I find to be a very worthwhile read. Not only does Ms.Collins talk about life as in the title of one of her famous songs, Both Sides Now, but she tells her life works from all of her various sides and accomplishments.

Using a typical day divided into morning, noon and night, Ms. Collins describes how her day is influenced by her creative flow which includes, meditation, meals and the time she devotes to her music or writings. It is as if everything she creates comes forth from the creative energy she pursues daily.

I really enjoyed this book. I have long admired Ms. Collins as a voice of the 60's and recently both her fiction and non -- fiction books. To me she epitomizes a Renaissance woman not quite content simply to sing and write songs but to spread out her creative forces to many other aspects of her life. And she seems to do all of these things so well.

While I usually don't quote from a book, I decided to include the following lines from Morning, Noon and Night as an incentive
for readers of this review to read a copy of this book.

"Hope springs eternal they say. As long as I can hope, I can find my way somehow. As long as we can hope, we see around the edges of life as they appear and look for the best, look for the love, look for the light. It is no longer the responsibility of the world around us to make us happy; it is our responsibility to create joy in our lives and we must take what happens to us under all circumstances and find a way to tell the story, to find our way thru the dark, to get thru to our own strength from the failings that come to everyone, no matter how strong or how gifted they are."

Read this book and see for yourself if Judy Collins is not only inspiring and uplifting, but a woman for all times.