Ebook
Prayer is a strange thing. Simple yet profound. How does it work? We don’t know. But God hears and loves us to talk to Him and to sit in His presence. Even in the darkness of night, when all the world seems to rest but you, there is a cry from the heart to a listening and understanding Father.
GASP! is a fervent and arresting response to a fast-changing world, the joy of creation and connection, and the goodness found in people. The poems ask pertinent and hard questions about life, relationships, suffering and inequality. Some of these questions are answered, while others remain mysterious, complex and concerning...
[Hilary Jane Hughes] combines meticulous, painterly observation and questioning contemplation … to stimulate heightened engagement with the subjects that interest her. … Above all, this is attentive writing, and Hughes’ descriptions and meditations train a parallel attentiveness in the reader paying it attention.
Hilary Jane Hughes was born in Essex and became a Christian in her teenage years. Having suffered abuse within the family during her childhood, she began to write as a means of letting her feelings out.
After completing teacher training, Hilary married Mike. They initially taught and lived in London, before moving to North Yorkshire where they settled. Having struggled with infertility, anxiety and insomnia—and sometimes her faith—Hilary returned to writing, initially as a therapy, but also as a vocation. She contributes regularly to services and events, and runs workshops and writing groups.
In 2009, Hilary left classroom teaching and retrained to teach English as a foreign language. She delivers lessons to students in Harrogate, as well as working individually with language learners from Europe and the Far East.
Hilary has two children and two grandchildren. She supports projects in Thailand and Vietnam, where she travels regularly. As an established poet, she enjoys to write about wild places, cities, people, events, faith and pain—asking questions and trying to find answers. In addition to writing, Hilary enjoys photography and card design, and trying new ways of generating good quality and accessible poems.