Recovering The Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. I, No.1) [Paperback]

Ernest Dempsey (Editor), Victor Volkman (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2009

Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. 1, No. 1) September 2009

Recovering The Self is a quarterly journal which explores the themes of recovery and healing through poetry, memoir, essays, fiction, humor, media reviews and psycho-education. Areas of concern include aging, disabilities, health, abuse recovery, trauma/PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Contributors come from around the world to provide a mirror of the experience of peoples of all cultures and beliefs. The premier issue explores a number of areas of concern including:

Resilience and trauma recovery

Healing the inner child

Journaling and grief

Forgiveness

Lyme Disease

Fibromyalgia

Substance abuse

Military families

Nature of gender

Children and trauma

and much more!

visit us online at www.RecoveringSelf.com

Published by Loving Healing Press www.LovingHealing.com

Periodicals : Literary - Poetry/Journal
Self-Help : Personal Growth - Happiness

Product Details

• Paperback: 92 pages
• Publisher: Loving Healing Press (July 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932690093
• ISBN-13: 978-1932690095
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 9.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Happiness

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Publication!!!, August 7, 2009

By 

Jennifer Couch (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Recovering The Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. I, No.1) (Paperback)

I just received the first issue of this joural. What a GREAT publication!!! This journal is full of interesting articles that are loaded with TONS of information. My recommendation for you is to subscribe to this publication. I promise that you'll be glad you did. I'm really looking forward to the next issue.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stories of Hope and Healing, March 4, 2010

By 

JeniO "JeniO" (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Recovering The Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. I, No.1) (Paperback)

Recovering the Self is a collection of articles, poetry and other forms of short writing. The journal focused on personal tragedy and how different individuals dealt with problems. Some turned to God, some to friends and family and others sought comfort in medicinal form. There were a couple of pieces that I was truly amazed at! I wondered how they coped so well. If I were there shoes how would I have dealt? In one story a man loses his wife and almost his children to Genocide. Another article deals with forgiveness of someone who ended a loved ones life. The pieces covered almost every coping mechanism for stress such as anger, substance abuse, grief (depression) and hope. I didn't remember if denial appeared in any piece.
I enjoyed reading this journal. I wished some of the articles were longer because it seems just I really got into it the piece was done. Many times I was left wondering ok how does the story end what happened next? I don't usually read journals but this wasn't a bad one to get into. I don't know if I would read the next volume simply because it is not my favorite genre. Even though it isn't my normal reading preference it was worth reading! Several times I was on the verge of crying. Some stories made me grateful for the life I have. I would recommend this journal to anyone suffering a tragedy. Maybe they would become inspired by a piece. The journal might also give them ideas how to deal with the circumstance at hand.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lives UP to Its Name, August 5, 2009

By 

Janet Riehl "Riehlife Village Wisdom for the ... (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Recovering The Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing (Vol. I, No.1) (Paperback)

Whether we have been emotionally wounded by trauma or not, recovering the self and carrying the feeling of hope and healing with us is a worthy human pursuit. "Recovering the Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing" (vol.I, No. 1) lives up to its name and the promise it offers.

The cover image of dancers by Cindy Moran sets the soothing tone of comfort and beauty. The 87 pages to follow provides a collage of writing styles ranging from memoir, academic, inspirational, fiction, and poetry. Publisher Victor Volkman says this intentional mix provides a different way in to reach a span of readers who may respond more to one form than to another.

Editor Ernest Dempsey does an admirable job of pulling this material together in a pleasing shape. Each piece offers a revelation, insight, or lesson for the reader to take away. The writing throughout is excellent.

Here's a passage I particularly found useful:

"When a trauma, a time of low resilience, gets re-stimulated, the sense of fragility, of helplessness in the incident is also evoked. Now the person is unable to cope with a number of situations that are only tangentially related o the original situation because of the feeling of fragility that arises in them because of the re-stimulation. This causes one's general level of resilience to drop markedly, and more and more aspect of life become stressful or traumatic, creating new sequences of traumatic incidents."

"Oh! So that's been what's going on," I thought.

Order your own copy and find out for yourself.

Janet Grace Riehl, author "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary"
Sightlines: a Family Love Story in Poetry & Music