The first collection of poems by award-winning Irish-American poet KB Ballentine. Gathering Stones describes the author's search for her ancestral background. First inspired by a fascination with Irish folklore, the poet began to explore and write about the more unsettled periods of Irish history - the occupations, the struggles for freedom, the Great Famine and the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It is when she visits Ireland that she experiences the beauty of the land and the friendliness of people who love nothing better than the return of a distant family member. Gathering Stones captures the haunting journey of self-discovery made by the poet to her ancestral home.