No one is an island. Whether we realize it or not, the people who surround us--family, friends, even complete strangers--shape who we are. They pass through our lives and make us the people we grow to be. Sometimes those same people even inspire us to follow our dreams.

Bits and Pieces is a collection of poetry that grew over decades of Richard Pernices career in the military and the truck-driving business. His words harken back to love found and eventually lost, as well as changes in life: going from being the child to the adult, son to father. He also admits to revealing his own monsters and fighting them into submission.

Life is all about experience and not being afraid of adventure. You cant understand a book without opening its cover; you cant describe a sculpture without walking all the way around it. So it is with life. Sometimes the most important moments are found along the edges of this highway, and if we arent careful, well miss them.