The Gulls Are Always Laughing by Karlyle Tomms is poetry and prose about transition from trauma and turmoil through relationships to spirituality and the ability to laugh at one’s troubles. We have all fought through anguish, hopefully to become better citizens. The poetry covers Karlyle’s formative years growing up with abuse on a farm in the Ozarks, his adult relationships, and his transition to life on the shores of the coastal bend of Texas. He bares his heart and soul on these pages, but he hopes to bear witness to there being a better way, and it is always possible to overcome and rise above.