Sgt. JoAnna Menzie Davis holds up a copy of her poetry book that she wrote while serving in Iraq. Photo by Sgt. Keith Anderson, 16th Sustainment Brigade.

The non-commissioned officer in charge of awards with the 16th Sustainment Brigade accomplished that goal when the first shipment of 20 copies of her published book arrived here recently.

"I was astounded," Davis said. "I knew that all my hard work and dedication had paid off. I was elated. And I knew I could not stop there."

Davis said the poems in her book, written under the pen name Jodi, aren't directly from her experiences but are triggered by events in her life.

"They're poems from living, seeing, knowing and understanding," Davis said. "I can't say they're particularly from my life."

Davis, with the help of Spc. Erin Smith, a graphics artist with the 16th Sust. Bde., published the 49-page glossy book through a self-publishing service called Lulu.

"'From Within' comes from the challenges and obstacles we all face as we grow from a young adolescent into an adult," reads Lulu’s description of the book. "Life is filled with so many twists and turns that to understand and capture as many as possible [sic]. Here is a tribute to all who have been in these shoes!"

Although Davis said she misses her three children, she is making the most of this deployment. She hopes to release a second book of poetry this year and finish her studies to obtain her master's degree.