21-year-old Redemption Sharpes resident writes book about life

By S.Browne. Updated 12:08 p.m., Thursday, June 19, 2025, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

At just twenty-one years old, Kayzannie Phillips of Redemption Sharpes has achieved a lifelong dream: publishing her first book. The collection, titled Boulevards of Life, features poems written from the age of eleven to the present day.

“I am currently twenty-one years old, and it has always been a goal of mine to become a published author,” Phillips said. “Therefore, I took on the journey of self-publishing.”

Boulevards of Life explores themes such as love, hate, and joy — all aspects of the human condition.

“Each poem is an echoing boulevard — they echo love, hate, pain, happiness, and everything else that makes us human,” she explained. “They act not only as an acknowledgement but as a light of guidance. However, they do not promise the perfect answers or solutions. In fact, the poems in my book make being alive relatable beyond its surface definition. They offer a way of knowing what is felt, and to realise that in this journey we are all walking our own boulevards of life.”

Phillips said the inspiration behind her poems draws mainly from her observations of the world and people around her. She noted that many of the pieces were written in her formative years and reflected experiences that are not always her own.

“For example, some were inspired by my observations of the emotional world of characters in a movie or book, or my third-hand view of the experiences of others. However, few are reflective of my internal world — least to say the poems about love and romantic relationships — were not inspired by my experiences.”

Boulevards of Life is available as an eBook on Amazon, Apple Books, and Barnes & Noble. Physical copies can be purchased through Bookbaby at: https://store.bookbaby.com/book/boulevards-of-life?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwK9NmpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp0h6qMgdBBWJmV66Mti_Uq6UxvRVnXZ3GWvUjlLsG8_Dk552T5KDAXkTJriP_aem_KjkG3-ELUtgRaQ6pBO74mg.