I appreciate Masud's vulnerability, but I wish her musings were more focused.I appreciate Masud's vulnerability, but I wish her musings were more focused....more
An insightful guidebook on using literature to achieve good mental health.
"Reading ignites our imaginations, clarifies our emotions and honours our oAn insightful guidebook on using literature to achieve good mental health.
"Reading ignites our imaginations, clarifies our emotions and honours our own very human problems. It also offers respite, or solutions to these problems, as well as offering a sense of meaning, enriching us."
Bibliotherapy: The Healing Power of Reading poignantly demonstrates how literature can be prescribed as a form of therapy.
The book opens with a brief introduction to using the novel as a form of therapy and how this practice compares to other forms of therapy. It then gives examples of effective implementation ranging from a couple for whom romance has died and a person uncomfortable with being asexual to a woman seeking representation and a child struggling with dyslexia.
Various forms of tangential therapy are introduced, such as literary journaling (journaling about a book while reading), narrative therapy (externalizing and re-authoring one's personal narrative), letter writing (writing letters to characters with whom the patient identifies), and more.
One of the most touching examples of bibliotherapy in the book concerns a couple for whom the flame of romance had died. They were prescribed an epistolary memoir to read as part of a date-night book club, and they were encouraged to write letters to each other in between their weekly date-night book club meetings.Adorable!
The final section of the book offers helpful tips on how to curate an arsenal of books, followed by an A-Z list of book prescriptions (for topics including abandonment, bullying, infertility, parenting, regret, trauma, and more).
Shah's book is both personal, heartfelt, and professionally sensitive. Highly recommend for those in need of bookish therapy or as a useful tool for those who work in a field that aims to improve the mental health of others.
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My heartfelt thanks to Little, Brown UK for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review....more
"...the longest-lasting pandemic in this country is a virus not of the body but of the mind, and it's called racism."
This is a great beginner book for"...the longest-lasting pandemic in this country is a virus not of the body but of the mind, and it's called racism."
This is a great beginner book for people who are just starting to ask questions about racism in America or have finally come to terms with their own long-held racist views and are ready to do the work to eradicate them.
Each chapter begins with a question concerning race that Emmanual Acho received from a white person (e.g., Does reverse racism exist? How do I spot implicit bias? Why can't I say the N-word?). Most of his answers are targeted and get right to the point. On occasion, I wished the answer to his questions had been more substantial, gone deeper, but by keeping things straightforward, the text remains approachable and accessible to the people who need it most.
The book is peppered with football metaphors (Acho did, after all, play professional football as a linebacker), and each chapter concludes with helpful recommendations for continued study and learning.
"One day in 1898, an unusual sequence of images leaped from one man's mind: A gray Kansas prairie. A lively girl with a brave little dog. A terrifying"One day in 1898, an unusual sequence of images leaped from one man's mind: A gray Kansas prairie. A lively girl with a brave little dog. A terrifying twister. A mystical land ruled by both good and wicked witches."
This proved a fascinating, in-depth look at the man behind the Land of Oz, from his privileged upbringing to his final days and everything in between that inspired him to bring a classic American fairy tale to life....more
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