Sunshine In the Weeds

Poetry that warms the heart in places where the sun forgot to shine. With eloquent finesse, Irsik explores the bonds between mothers, friends, and nature. Inviting readers to discover the divine in life’s smallest moments, Irsik provides a heartfelt connection to the human spirit to brighten the hidden corners..

In a collection dedicated to her younger self, D.A. Irsik shares words that evoke images of life, love, and belonging. … a nostalgic look at how the simple parts of life are, in the end, most important. —Curtis Becker, author of My Second Act and Greetings from Topeka.

Sunshine in the Weeds is a lyrical odyssey into the human heart, where love, faith, and nature intertwine. … a journey from shadows to sunshine. … Her poetry gives emotional flight to those precious single life moments between mothers and daughters, mothers and sons and close friends and family members. Irsik’s poetry warms the heart in places where the sun has forgotten to shine. —Liz Martel

… While the vast array of poems in Irsik’s collection reflect sunshine, she shares a smattering of weeds that allude to darker aspects of a woman who, while looking outward, comes to better understand the internal. —Ronda Miller, author of five poetry books including MoonStain, and the award winning children’s book, I Love the Child.

With an honest and heartfelt voice, D. A. Irsik explores the dimensions of faith, loss, personal accountability, wonder of nature and creativity … the overall theme the reader is left with is the spark of magic, the sense of possibility and sorrow that can be found in the mundane. —Brenda White, author of Blue Collar Saint, which won the Kansas Notable Book in 2022. She also has been published in 105 Meadowlark Reader and the Write Bridge.

… Irsik’s evocative words honestly portray the rawness and despair of grief, yet leave the reader with her personal sense of hope, encouraging each of us to take a little gut-check of our lives right here, right now. —Marcia Lawrence, journalist, photographer, stockbroker, editor, corn de-tasseler, musician, and mom. She is a lifelong scholar of regional history, an author, and a passionate researcher.
Thank you, D.A. Irsik for sharing your sunshine. This deeply personal gift reflects the giver: thoughtful, generous, kind, motherly, beautiful in word and in fact. Your devotion to life and love glows in every word. —Jerilynn Jones Henrikson, has produced eight books for kids, a humorous memoir, a YA novel, and a creative nonfiction novella