Counting Blessings is an expression of gratitude for a life lived away from the madding crowd. This poetry collection was penned about a year after its author moved to a small town in Mexico. With the frenzy of American life receding into the background, the writer was able to sink into the stillness of his new surroundings, allowing long-dormant creative energies to surface. In addition to Counting Blessings, he also wrote a novel and a collection of essays questioning the values of American society, roughly during the same time.