Clouds on the Ground: Poetry, Chronic Illness & Finding Beauty in Difficult Seasons/ Autumn

Sometimes the most beautiful words are born in the hardest seasons.In this episode of Beyond the Draft, Imma welcomes poet and author Autumn Williams, whose bestselling, Kirkus-praised collection Clouds on the Ground and chapbook WAVES transform deeply personal experiences into powerful reflections on resilience, hope, motherhood, creativity, and life with chronic illness.Autumn opens up about how chronic illness dramatically changed her life and how poetry became more than a creative outlet—it became a way to process loss, preserve hope, and find meaning in moments of stillness.Together, they explore what happens when life doesn't follow the plan, how deeply personal stories can become universal, and why seasons that feel unproductive may still be nurturing something meaningful beneath the surface.This is a conversation about finding beauty where you least expect it—and discovering that sometimes, hope arrives one page, one line, and one breath at a time.Because difficult seasons don't always erase beauty. Sometimes, they reveal it.