Canadian born Joy Conron Shieman, Poetry Therapist, has been writing poetry for self-balance and for others since childhood. She married a newly graduated Medical student and they decided to make California their home. Their treasures on earth became their three creative daughters.

This explorer, with a detective tendency was destined to become a pioneer of the art of organizing poetry into healing patterns. Poetry Therapy's gentle action, serendipitously discovered, Joy originally termed "Therapoetics". She planted its roots in the Mental Health, Psychiatric Unit of a local hospital.

Now retired, she was among the first four persons to become a Registered Poetry Therapist and still is linking her heart and soul to this refined re-aligning instrument. Through the years it has been her pleasure to present on seventy occasions either workshops, or to take part in educational or medical panels.

As a co-author of "Borrowed Water" (Tuttle, 1966) the first anthology of American Haiku outside of Japan, immediately after its publication she realized Haiku’s potential as a "balancer", or "an island of order" for mal-aligned patients.

The Haiku harvest contained in "Eating Sour Rhubarb" was highly influenced by her husband, "Dr. Bryan" a pilot and eventually an Orthopedic Surgeon. He quietly became a one-man "Flying Doctor" finding those in need of "medical repair" during their travel adventures. It was on these flights Joy was gifted with viewing "High-Ku" from magic-carpet heights.

They both fell in love with Baja and Mexico and the loving people encountered, and often medically cared-for. Joy's life-journey writing poetry and learning to "Live Haiku" has provided many of the Haiku "Moments of Now", and some of the photos in "Eating Sour Rhubarb". This poet hopes that her book will bring either pleasure, adventure, healing, or as "Rumi" declared, "One small drop of knowing in my soul" to each reader.