Publication Date: June 12, 2026
“A Wild Ride” by Louise Kantro – Finishing Line Press

A Wild Ride looks and the current social and political landscape in the United States through a lens of temporary discouragement. With a turn of the lens, the picture becomes more hopeful, but her poems see any optimism as possible only if people look at problems straight on with a determination to move closer to the full potential of our country’s vision. This is a collection of stories, denunciations, and anthems about people and how policies affect them.

Karen Hansis Baker, author of Exercises in Stone, says,
 “In A Wild Ride Louise Kantro elucidates the personal and political challenges of people and conditions that are often dismissed and ignored,” and Linda Scheller, author of Laurels and The Ghost of 16 Larkin Street, says, “This is a collection that invites us to hop in, buckle up, and expand our horizons.”

Why did I write this book?

The 2024 Presidential election floored me. I am not someone prone to
depression, but I would say I became depressed, discouraged, disenchanted,
disoriented, almost dysfunctional and – yes, angry. I knew I would have to come out of this abyss, but I also knew I needed to sit for a while.
Take a breath. Read recreationally. Watch stupid TV.
I didn’t start writing as therapy for myself for  several months.
Many of the poems I wrote in 2024 were attempts to push me forward into some kind of action.
I just wasn’t sure what kind of action.

~Louise Kantro