In Gaining Purchase, the poems attempt to reflect on the everyday lives and experiences of women, men, and children; the beautiful, sensual, difficult, and harsh realities of life; and how we each learn from what we experience and, through our constant adjustment and balance, try to gain a solid foothold throughout our lives. Based on her life experiences as a daughter, mother, partner, educator, and volunteer, with graduate degrees in Education and Counselling, Patricia Davenport draws on her life in New England and her Polish ancestry to paint poetic images. Her poetry reveals that while life often seems to be about striving to gain purchase and can be difficult and harsh, it is not always so. Life also has its times of joy, playfulness, sensuality, humor and achievement.