"Meadow Flowers" is Sandra E. McBride's second collection of "people poetry" meant to bring to the reader a memory, a thought, a feeling, a reminder of a beautiful sight or an uplifting moment. As in her first volume, "Mist Upon the Pond," "Meadow Flowers" features a wide range of styles and forms, from haiku to narrative story poems and most everything else in between. There are familiar forms like quatrain, some unusual forms such as shape poems and samisen and some with unique forms and rhyming patterns as well. A hug, a laugh, a pat on the back . . . some "ah " moments in an often trying world. This collection of 95 poems and verses written over the past four years features a section of poems especially for children as well as sections on history, the beauty of nature, inspirational moments both humorous and serious, getting to know God and cherishing family. Like the wildflowers in a country meadow, this varied collection has something for everyone. Sandra E. McBride is a native of Mechanicville, New York and grew up in a small town and outdoorsy environment, which early on forged in her a great appreciation for the world around her. With a lifelong interest in writing, leading to a gig as a high school correspondent with the Record Newspapers at the age of 16, she put her dream of becoming a "real" writer on hold while she reared her six children. For twenty-four years, she worked alongside her husband Tom in running their family dairy farm. At age 55, with the kids grown up and out on their own, she decided to dust off that dream of becoming a writer and go for it. She enrolled in a writing course with the Institute of Children's Literature. After achieving "enough success to keep me writing," she says, and after retiring from her day job in the local school's business office, she took on a career as a freelance writer with a local weekly newspaper, The Express, in 2006.