Author: Jolyn Davidson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780997083705
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
We cannot escape life's wounds. They come with the normal wear and tear of human existence. In this engaging and eye-opening book, you will discover how you have been impacted by early experiences with primary caregivers who provided either "Too Much, Too Little," or "Just Right" emotionally. "Transforming Wounds into Wisdom: Change Your Attitudes and Save Your Life" makes it clear, however, that whatever unhealed emotional injuries you sustained as a result of hurtful childhood experiences are not life sentences-they are opportunities for ongoing personal growth. More specifically, Jolyn Davidson shows you the way to heal those old emotional wounds and to change the self-defeating attitudes that have arisen from them. She offers valuable and useful tools that will help you free yourself from the tenacious ties that have been binding you to your painful past. The empowering resources she provides will make it possible for you to generate new attitudes, which will then lead to deeper, more satisfying relationships with your family, friends, and yourself. Ultimately, this profound book is about "Hope-Healing-Wholeness." It is a road map that will arm you with not only greater understanding but also an enhanced ability to transform your emotional wounds into wisdom both by dismantling old attitudes and by fashioning new ones. And the wisdom, strength, and capacity to care for your needs in healthy ways that you have acquired on your heroic journey will make it possible for you to create a more meaningful and richer life.
Wounds into Wisdom
Author: Tirzah Firestone
Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing
ISBN: 1948626896
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 214
Book Description
“Wounds into Wisdom is for anyone who has suffered trauma, either directly or in a family whose generational trauma is buried. It helps readers uncover suffering and use it to help others―the final stage of healing. We may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can control what happens next.” ―Gloria Steinem 2020 Nautilus Book Award―GOLD/Psychology 2020 Book Award from the Jewish Women’s Caucus of the Association for Women in Psychology 2019 Book of the Year Award Finalist in Religion and Self-Help categories Our past does not simply disappear. The painful history of our ancestors and their rich cultural wisdom intertwine within us to create the patterns of our future. Even when past trauma remains unspoken or has long been forgotten, it becomes part of us and our children―a legacy of both strength and woundedness that shapes our lives. In this book, Tirzah Firestone brings to life the profound impact of protracted historical trauma through the compelling narratives of Israeli terror victims, Holocaust survivors, and those whose lives were marred by racial persecution and displacement. The tragic story of Firestone’s own family lays the groundwork for these revealing testimonies of recovery, forgiveness, and moral leadership. Throughout, Firestone interweaves their voices with neuroscientific and psychological findings, as well as relevant and inspiring Jewish teachings. Seven principles emerge from these wise narratives―powerful prescriptive tools that speak to anyone dealing with the effects of past injury. At the broadest level, these principles are directives for staying morally awake in a world rife with terror.
Publisher: Monkfish Book Publishing
ISBN: 1948626896
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 214
Book Description
“Wounds into Wisdom is for anyone who has suffered trauma, either directly or in a family whose generational trauma is buried. It helps readers uncover suffering and use it to help others―the final stage of healing. We may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can control what happens next.” ―Gloria Steinem 2020 Nautilus Book Award―GOLD/Psychology 2020 Book Award from the Jewish Women’s Caucus of the Association for Women in Psychology 2019 Book of the Year Award Finalist in Religion and Self-Help categories Our past does not simply disappear. The painful history of our ancestors and their rich cultural wisdom intertwine within us to create the patterns of our future. Even when past trauma remains unspoken or has long been forgotten, it becomes part of us and our children―a legacy of both strength and woundedness that shapes our lives. In this book, Tirzah Firestone brings to life the profound impact of protracted historical trauma through the compelling narratives of Israeli terror victims, Holocaust survivors, and those whose lives were marred by racial persecution and displacement. The tragic story of Firestone’s own family lays the groundwork for these revealing testimonies of recovery, forgiveness, and moral leadership. Throughout, Firestone interweaves their voices with neuroscientific and psychological findings, as well as relevant and inspiring Jewish teachings. Seven principles emerge from these wise narratives―powerful prescriptive tools that speak to anyone dealing with the effects of past injury. At the broadest level, these principles are directives for staying morally awake in a world rife with terror.
Healing Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Author: Gillian O’Shea Brown
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030614166
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 167
Book Description
This book is a clinician's guide to understanding, diagnosing, treating, and healing complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). C-PTSD, a diagnostic entity to be included in ICD-11 in 2022, denotes a severe form of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is the result of prolonged and repeated interpersonal trauma. The author provides guidance on healing complex trauma through phase-oriented, multimodal, and skill-focused treatment approaches, with a core emphasis on symptom relief and functional improvement. Readers will gain familiarity with the integrative healing techniques and modalities that are currently being utilized as evidence-based treatments, including innovative multi-sensory treatments for trauma, in addition to learning more about posttraumatic growth and resilience. Each chapter of this guide navigates readers through the complicated field of treating and healing complex trauma, including how to work with clients also impacted by the shared collective trauma of COVID-19, and is illustrated by case examples. Topics explored include: Complex layered trauma Dissociation Trauma and the body The power of belief An overview of psychotherapy modalities for the treatment of complex trauma Ego state work and connecting with the inner child Turning wounds into wisdom: resilience and posttraumatic growth Vicarious trauma and professional self-care for the trauma clinician It is important for clinicians to be aware of contemporary trends in treating C-PTSD. Healing Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is an essential text for mental health practitioners, clinical social workers, and other clinicians; academics; and graduate students, in addition to other professionals and students interested in C-PTSD. It is an attractive resource for an international clinical audience as we work together to heal, affirm, and unburden clients following this time of shared collective trauma.
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030614166
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 167
Book Description
This book is a clinician's guide to understanding, diagnosing, treating, and healing complex posttraumatic stress disorder (C-PTSD). C-PTSD, a diagnostic entity to be included in ICD-11 in 2022, denotes a severe form of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is the result of prolonged and repeated interpersonal trauma. The author provides guidance on healing complex trauma through phase-oriented, multimodal, and skill-focused treatment approaches, with a core emphasis on symptom relief and functional improvement. Readers will gain familiarity with the integrative healing techniques and modalities that are currently being utilized as evidence-based treatments, including innovative multi-sensory treatments for trauma, in addition to learning more about posttraumatic growth and resilience. Each chapter of this guide navigates readers through the complicated field of treating and healing complex trauma, including how to work with clients also impacted by the shared collective trauma of COVID-19, and is illustrated by case examples. Topics explored include: Complex layered trauma Dissociation Trauma and the body The power of belief An overview of psychotherapy modalities for the treatment of complex trauma Ego state work and connecting with the inner child Turning wounds into wisdom: resilience and posttraumatic growth Vicarious trauma and professional self-care for the trauma clinician It is important for clinicians to be aware of contemporary trends in treating C-PTSD. Healing Complex Posttraumatic Stress Disorder is an essential text for mental health practitioners, clinical social workers, and other clinicians; academics; and graduate students, in addition to other professionals and students interested in C-PTSD. It is an attractive resource for an international clinical audience as we work together to heal, affirm, and unburden clients following this time of shared collective trauma.
The Five Invitations
Author: Frank Ostaseski
Publisher: Flatiron Books
ISBN: 1250074665
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 305
Book Description
The cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project and pioneer behind the compassionate care movement shares an inspiring exploration of the lessons dying has to offer about living a fulfilling life. Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us to discover what matters most. Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death. The Five Invitations is an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of life and how maintaining an ever-present consciousness of death can bring us closer to our truest selves. As a renowned teacher of compassionate caregiving and the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, Frank Ostaseski has sat on the precipice of death with more than a thousand people. In The Five Invitations, he distills the lessons gleaned over the course of his career, offering an evocative and stirring guide that points to a radical path to transformation. The Five Invitations: -Don’t Wait -Welcome Everything, Push Away Nothing -Bring Your Whole Self to the Experience -Find a Place of Rest in the Middle of Things -Cultivate Don’t Know Mind These Five Invitations show us how to wake up fully to our lives. They can be understood as best practices for anyone coping with loss or navigating any sort of transition or crisis; they guide us toward appreciating life’s preciousness. Awareness of death can be a valuable companion on the road to living well, forging a rich and meaningful life, and letting go of regret. The Five Invitations is a powerful and inspiring exploration of the essential wisdom dying has to impart to all of us.
Publisher: Flatiron Books
ISBN: 1250074665
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 305
Book Description
The cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project and pioneer behind the compassionate care movement shares an inspiring exploration of the lessons dying has to offer about living a fulfilling life. Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us to discover what matters most. Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death. The Five Invitations is an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of life and how maintaining an ever-present consciousness of death can bring us closer to our truest selves. As a renowned teacher of compassionate caregiving and the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, Frank Ostaseski has sat on the precipice of death with more than a thousand people. In The Five Invitations, he distills the lessons gleaned over the course of his career, offering an evocative and stirring guide that points to a radical path to transformation. The Five Invitations: -Don’t Wait -Welcome Everything, Push Away Nothing -Bring Your Whole Self to the Experience -Find a Place of Rest in the Middle of Things -Cultivate Don’t Know Mind These Five Invitations show us how to wake up fully to our lives. They can be understood as best practices for anyone coping with loss or navigating any sort of transition or crisis; they guide us toward appreciating life’s preciousness. Awareness of death can be a valuable companion on the road to living well, forging a rich and meaningful life, and letting go of regret. The Five Invitations is a powerful and inspiring exploration of the essential wisdom dying has to impart to all of us.
The Healing Power of Our Past
Author: Hollie Martin
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595349242
Category : Mind and body therapies
Languages : en
Pages : 207
Book Description
The Healing Power Of Our Past tells the true stories of real people who discovered a remarkable new pathway for healing, developed by two strangers who found themselves on an astonishing journey beyond time and space. This book conveys the means by which people have been healed through a new process called, Life Memory Recall and Guided Light Therapyc. These therapies work with the understanding that past experiences leave indelible impressions on our lives that can manifest as many present day illnesses; physical, psychological and/or emotional. This book weaves together the fascinating ways people's lives were positively changed as a result of healing their current lives by extraordinary means through the recall and release of past experiences-some happening centuries before! The Healing Power Of Our Past shares a message of healing help that many may be looking for. "Essential reading for anyone interested in taking a first step toward improved health. I recommend this book to anyone needing new techniques and new possibilities that go beyond traditional therapy." -Jon Roe, Founding Publisher, The Door Opener. "This book is filled with powerful, life-changing stories from two gifted healers. Be prepared to have this book speak to your heart and soul." -Judi Neal, Ph.D., Executive Director, Center for Spirit at Work, & Author, Edgewalkers. "An intriguing look at the power of the human mind and its ability to restore the body and soul." -Robyn B. Surdel, President, Nybor, LLC multimedia publishing; Robyn's Nest, The Parenting Network. "Norton Berkowitz and Hollie Martin present a richly-layered, uplifting chronicle of unusual journeys towards wellness. This book is must-read for anyone who has given up hope. I suspect many people will become eager to tap into their own subconscious for an effective method of healing they might have never known was possible!" -Noelle Daidone, Program Director, The Learning Annex of New York.
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595349242
Category : Mind and body therapies
Languages : en
Pages : 207
Book Description
The Healing Power Of Our Past tells the true stories of real people who discovered a remarkable new pathway for healing, developed by two strangers who found themselves on an astonishing journey beyond time and space. This book conveys the means by which people have been healed through a new process called, Life Memory Recall and Guided Light Therapyc. These therapies work with the understanding that past experiences leave indelible impressions on our lives that can manifest as many present day illnesses; physical, psychological and/or emotional. This book weaves together the fascinating ways people's lives were positively changed as a result of healing their current lives by extraordinary means through the recall and release of past experiences-some happening centuries before! The Healing Power Of Our Past shares a message of healing help that many may be looking for. "Essential reading for anyone interested in taking a first step toward improved health. I recommend this book to anyone needing new techniques and new possibilities that go beyond traditional therapy." -Jon Roe, Founding Publisher, The Door Opener. "This book is filled with powerful, life-changing stories from two gifted healers. Be prepared to have this book speak to your heart and soul." -Judi Neal, Ph.D., Executive Director, Center for Spirit at Work, & Author, Edgewalkers. "An intriguing look at the power of the human mind and its ability to restore the body and soul." -Robyn B. Surdel, President, Nybor, LLC multimedia publishing; Robyn's Nest, The Parenting Network. "Norton Berkowitz and Hollie Martin present a richly-layered, uplifting chronicle of unusual journeys towards wellness. This book is must-read for anyone who has given up hope. I suspect many people will become eager to tap into their own subconscious for an effective method of healing they might have never known was possible!" -Noelle Daidone, Program Director, The Learning Annex of New York.
Self-Inflicted Wounds
Author: Aisha Tyler
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062223798
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 468
Book Description
In her book Self-Inflicted Wounds, comedian, actress, and cohost of CBS’s daytime hit show The Talk, Aisha Tyler recounts a series of epic mistakes and hilarious stories of crushing personal humiliation, and the personal insights and authentic wisdom she gathered along the way. The essays in Self-Inflicted Wounds are refreshingly and sometimes brutally honest, surprising, and laugh-out-loud funny, vividly translating the brand of humor Tyler has cultivated through her successful standup career, as well as the strong voice and unique point of view she expresses on her taste-making comedy podcast Girl on Guy. Riotous, revealing, and wonderfully relatable, Aisha Tyler’s Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation is about the power of calamity to shape life, learning, and success.
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062223798
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 468
Book Description
In her book Self-Inflicted Wounds, comedian, actress, and cohost of CBS’s daytime hit show The Talk, Aisha Tyler recounts a series of epic mistakes and hilarious stories of crushing personal humiliation, and the personal insights and authentic wisdom she gathered along the way. The essays in Self-Inflicted Wounds are refreshingly and sometimes brutally honest, surprising, and laugh-out-loud funny, vividly translating the brand of humor Tyler has cultivated through her successful standup career, as well as the strong voice and unique point of view she expresses on her taste-making comedy podcast Girl on Guy. Riotous, revealing, and wonderfully relatable, Aisha Tyler’s Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation is about the power of calamity to shape life, learning, and success.
Does Time Really Heal All Wounds?
Author: Danny Loveless
Publisher: Tate Pub & Enterprises Llc
ISBN: 9781622954735
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
Christians spend a great amount of their time trying to rid themselves of the pain inflicted from life's wounds. While many of these wounds cannot be prevented, a vast number of them can be. Very few Christians realize that the majority of the wounds they suffer from are self-inflicted. In Does Time Really Heal All Wounds, author Danny Loveless uses God's Word and examples of physical wounds to show you how to treat the many mental and spiritual wounds that are sure to vex your soul. Using a common sense approach, he will show you that accepting and treating your wounds is the key to living a life free from discouragement and disappointment. Even the strongest Christian will become depressed in waiting for a day of complete healing while on earth. Danny has spent many years helping the wounded, and now he will share his insight with you. His prayer is that his experiences will help treat your wounds and encourage you to help others.
Publisher: Tate Pub & Enterprises Llc
ISBN: 9781622954735
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
Christians spend a great amount of their time trying to rid themselves of the pain inflicted from life's wounds. While many of these wounds cannot be prevented, a vast number of them can be. Very few Christians realize that the majority of the wounds they suffer from are self-inflicted. In Does Time Really Heal All Wounds, author Danny Loveless uses God's Word and examples of physical wounds to show you how to treat the many mental and spiritual wounds that are sure to vex your soul. Using a common sense approach, he will show you that accepting and treating your wounds is the key to living a life free from discouragement and disappointment. Even the strongest Christian will become depressed in waiting for a day of complete healing while on earth. Danny has spent many years helping the wounded, and now he will share his insight with you. His prayer is that his experiences will help treat your wounds and encourage you to help others.
Getting Back to Happy
Author: Marc Chernoff
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143132784
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
Instant New York Times bestseller · Empowering advice for overcoming setbacks from the authors of the popular blog Marc & Angel Hack Life Marc and Angel Chernoff have become go-to voices in the area of personal development, reaching tens of thousands of fans each day with their fresh and relatable insights. Now they're writing the book they wish they'd had when they needed it most. Getting Back to Happy reveals their strategies for changing thought patterns and daily habits to bounce back from tough times. Sharing never-before-published stories and advice, the book shows us how to harness the power of daily rituals, mindfulness, self-care, and more to overcome whatever life throws our way--in order to become our best selves.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0143132784
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 273
Book Description
Instant New York Times bestseller · Empowering advice for overcoming setbacks from the authors of the popular blog Marc & Angel Hack Life Marc and Angel Chernoff have become go-to voices in the area of personal development, reaching tens of thousands of fans each day with their fresh and relatable insights. Now they're writing the book they wish they'd had when they needed it most. Getting Back to Happy reveals their strategies for changing thought patterns and daily habits to bounce back from tough times. Sharing never-before-published stories and advice, the book shows us how to harness the power of daily rituals, mindfulness, self-care, and more to overcome whatever life throws our way--in order to become our best selves.
Note to Self
Author: Andrea Buchanan
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416958029
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 647
Book Description
Thirty inspiring women share the enduring lessons they have learned from the defining moments of their lives. Life rarely works out exactly as we plan. Rejection by a cherished friend, the onset of an unexpected illness, struggle with body image and self-perception -- these experiences may challenge us, but our triumphs come to define us. We find comfort, joy, tears, and laughter in the wisdom, insight, and empathy we gain. In Note to Self, thirty dynamic women share their inspirational stories with writer, director, and television and film producer Andrea Buchanan. Celebrities such as Grammy Award-winning rock star Sheryl Crow and Emmy Award-winning actress Camryn Manheim join stuntwoman Stacy Courtney, football player Katie Hnida, seventy- year-old HIV-positive grandmother Beverly London, and alcoholic-turned-interventionist Candy Finnigan to reflect on their unforgettable stories of redemption. Punctuated by tears and laughter, these poignant tales are full of incredible strength, invaluable knowledge, insurmountable odds, helpful survival instincts, amazing willpower, humiliation -- sometimes on a national level -- and a hefty dose of humor. These unstoppable women emerged stronger, wiser, and more successful from the often painful and humbling turning points in their lives. While none of their unique stories will fit neatly on a sticky note you can tape to your wall, each of them carries an indelible message that can.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416958029
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 647
Book Description
Thirty inspiring women share the enduring lessons they have learned from the defining moments of their lives. Life rarely works out exactly as we plan. Rejection by a cherished friend, the onset of an unexpected illness, struggle with body image and self-perception -- these experiences may challenge us, but our triumphs come to define us. We find comfort, joy, tears, and laughter in the wisdom, insight, and empathy we gain. In Note to Self, thirty dynamic women share their inspirational stories with writer, director, and television and film producer Andrea Buchanan. Celebrities such as Grammy Award-winning rock star Sheryl Crow and Emmy Award-winning actress Camryn Manheim join stuntwoman Stacy Courtney, football player Katie Hnida, seventy- year-old HIV-positive grandmother Beverly London, and alcoholic-turned-interventionist Candy Finnigan to reflect on their unforgettable stories of redemption. Punctuated by tears and laughter, these poignant tales are full of incredible strength, invaluable knowledge, insurmountable odds, helpful survival instincts, amazing willpower, humiliation -- sometimes on a national level -- and a hefty dose of humor. These unstoppable women emerged stronger, wiser, and more successful from the often painful and humbling turning points in their lives. While none of their unique stories will fit neatly on a sticky note you can tape to your wall, each of them carries an indelible message that can.
Radical Compassion
Author: Tara Brach
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525522824
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
One of the most beloved and trusted mindfulness teachers in America offers a lifeline for difficult times: the RAIN meditation, which awakens our courage and heart Tara Brach is an in-the-trenches teacher whose work counters today's ever-increasing onslaught of news, conflict, demands, and anxieties--stresses that leave us rushing around on auto-pilot and cut off from the presence and creativity that give our lives meaning. In this heartfelt and deeply practical book, she offers an antidote: an easy-to-learn four-step meditation that quickly loosens the grip of difficult emotions and limiting beliefs. Each step in the meditation practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) is brought to life by memorable stories shared by Tara and her students as they deal with feelings of overwhelm, loss, and self-aversion, with painful relationships, and past trauma--and as they discover step-by-step the sources of love, forgiveness, compassion, and deep wisdom alive within all of us.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525522824
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 288
Book Description
One of the most beloved and trusted mindfulness teachers in America offers a lifeline for difficult times: the RAIN meditation, which awakens our courage and heart Tara Brach is an in-the-trenches teacher whose work counters today's ever-increasing onslaught of news, conflict, demands, and anxieties--stresses that leave us rushing around on auto-pilot and cut off from the presence and creativity that give our lives meaning. In this heartfelt and deeply practical book, she offers an antidote: an easy-to-learn four-step meditation that quickly loosens the grip of difficult emotions and limiting beliefs. Each step in the meditation practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) is brought to life by memorable stories shared by Tara and her students as they deal with feelings of overwhelm, loss, and self-aversion, with painful relationships, and past trauma--and as they discover step-by-step the sources of love, forgiveness, compassion, and deep wisdom alive within all of us.
The Soul of the Full-Length Manuscript
Author: Zelda Lockhart
Publisher: Lavenson Press Studios
ISBN: 9780978910266
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
-This book should come with a warning label: 'Be ready, you are going to have to go deeper than you ever imagined.'- Dorothy Allison Author of Bastard Out of Carolina Utilize your emotional, psychological, and spiritual self to produce the first draft of a full-length manuscript. This book helps you take the stuff that has been making a mess of your life and use it instead to make art, harmonized with craft. It acts as creative companion for individuals (those with or without writing experience) as they journey through the sharing of an impactful event in life, do exercises that help them transform internal obstacles into external gifts, and then write resolution and outcome. Lockhart's own rough drafts and excerpts from published fiction, memoir, and poetry of writers like Toi Derricotte, Helena MarIa Viramontes, and Ta‑Nehisi Coates, along with films by writers and directors like Sherman Alexie offer kinship on the journey of unearthing and sharing a personal plot. At times, you will feel that the book is designed to produce a new emotional, psychological, and spiritual you and that your resulting manuscript is merely the byproduct. Both are true of the design, because the purpose of art is to make yourself vulnerable about your experiences here in life--to have the courage to be vulnerable about those experiences so that you can connect with others who came here solo like you and will leave solo just like you. And that process of sharing is transformative.
Publisher: Lavenson Press Studios
ISBN: 9780978910266
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
-This book should come with a warning label: 'Be ready, you are going to have to go deeper than you ever imagined.'- Dorothy Allison Author of Bastard Out of Carolina Utilize your emotional, psychological, and spiritual self to produce the first draft of a full-length manuscript. This book helps you take the stuff that has been making a mess of your life and use it instead to make art, harmonized with craft. It acts as creative companion for individuals (those with or without writing experience) as they journey through the sharing of an impactful event in life, do exercises that help them transform internal obstacles into external gifts, and then write resolution and outcome. Lockhart's own rough drafts and excerpts from published fiction, memoir, and poetry of writers like Toi Derricotte, Helena MarIa Viramontes, and Ta‑Nehisi Coates, along with films by writers and directors like Sherman Alexie offer kinship on the journey of unearthing and sharing a personal plot. At times, you will feel that the book is designed to produce a new emotional, psychological, and spiritual you and that your resulting manuscript is merely the byproduct. Both are true of the design, because the purpose of art is to make yourself vulnerable about your experiences here in life--to have the courage to be vulnerable about those experiences so that you can connect with others who came here solo like you and will leave solo just like you. And that process of sharing is transformative.