A North Carolina native who took her nursing training at Louise Obici School of Professional Nursing recently has self-published her first book.

Joan Norfleet’s “The Power of Poetry: Expressions to Relate and Reflect” features 32 poems drawing on her experiences as a nurse and single mother and reflecting on travels and the importance of family.

After her mother died when Norfleet was in the fifth grade, she started writing poetry in high school to fill the void, she said.

“It helps me handle different situations,” she said of her poetry. “I can’t express in words talking, but I can write about it. It gives me a lot of encouragement, too.”

Norfleet said she doesn’t have any special writing rituals. One poem in the book was written in about 15 minutes at her computer, while others take longer.

“I don’t have to have a special place,” she said. “In my mind I do.”

She said she has written down some titles for a second book but has yet to write the poems.

She hopes to donate some copies of her book to local hospitals, aiming to encourage and inspire nurses and patients, particularly with the poems about her nursing experiences.

“I’ve got a lot of eye-opening experiences,” she said. “I just hope the right people read it. I hope they can relate to some of the experiences that are in there. I want to be the rainbow in someone’s cloud.”

The book is available in some local bookstores, including Suffolk’s Christian Bookstore, as well as the websites of Amazon and Barnes & Noble.