A Balancing Act is the fifth book of poetry by award-winning poet Jim McGarrah. With new and selected work, this book explores the cultural landscape of America, both past and present. These poems take readers on a journey through the gritty backroads of America--through a childhood fraught with beautiful tension, the experiences of a soldier in Vietnam and its aftermath, and the reflections of a man who has seen both himself and the world around him change. Part beat, part confessional, and part jazz, these poems memorize with craft, wit, and perhaps most poignant, their honesty.