Painting Life: My Creative Journey Through Trauma

(Paperback)

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When Carol Walsh pulled her fianc from the bottom of a diving welldead from a massive heart attackher life was turned upside down. Even though she was a psychotherapist working with clients suffering from trauma, this personal shock felt unbearable. Nonetheless, she had to heal herself while supporting clientsand, as a single mother, her two children. Using the creative interests shed developed during childhood in order to emotionally save herself from a difficult mother, she fully recovered from her grief and PTSD symptomsand as she recreated her personal, artistic, and professional life, she began to thrive.

Reviews

"A compelling, intimately personal, insightful, and ultimately inspirational account, Painting Life: My Creative Journey Through Trauma, is very highly recommended for both community and academic library collections." Midwest Books "Carol Walsh uses her amazing creative talents to paint a picture with her words. This book itself is a work of art; it is engaging, compelling, and highly readable. But most importantly, it is helpful. Carols own journey helps us through our own pain. The book gives us hope, and indeed this memoir is a brilliant example of using creativity to move through trauma, pain, and grief to find renewed empowerment on the other side." Patti Clark, author of This Way Up: Seven Tools for Unleashing Your Creative Self and Transforming Your Life Written in an engaging style, Walsh's story is honest, poignant, and deeply moving; I have no doubt that it will be inspirational for many. This memoir is a wonderful example of the creative transformation of traumatic loss in which the survivor turns to artistic self-expression to gain mastery, find meaning, and connect with others. We, her readers, become witnesses not only to her suffering, but also to her strengths and to her empowerment. Sophia Richman, Ph.D. author of Mended by the Muse: Creative Transformations of Trauma "Carol is an evolved being and talented storyteller. I found her spiritual approach to work and life truly inspirational. She shares very personal, intense, powerful life experiences that have guided her on a path to help her integrate her emotional and spiritual health. Painting Life is a gem that offers healing insights for all of us to treasure. Louis deSabla, publisher of Pathways Magazine "Painting Life is a deeply reflective memoir. With candor and grace, Carol Walsh shares detailed personal accounts of her traumatic experiences and painful relationships, along with the creative process that helps her heal. The spiritual undertone encourages us to reflect on why difficult things happen and how life can improve if we endure. Having experienced depression and the healing power of art, I found it eye-opening to read about mental health and art from a therapists perspective. Anyone working in the mental health field or those interested in art will greatly benefit from this book." David Sandum, artist, philanthropist, and author of Ill Run Till the Sun Goes Down: A Memoir About Depression and Discovering Art A wonderful portrayal of how art serves as a rudder while navigating life's journey, Carol Walsh discovers the centering power of her creativity when faced with challenges, and learns to trust it as a guide. Texture is added to the narrative as she weaves her personal story under headings that describe a key concept of art making. This book is a wonderful testament to the power of courage, curiosity, and creativity." Joan Stanford, registered board-certified art therapist and author of The Art Of Play "Painting Life is a work of arta well-written memoir by an incredible woman, who shares how she recovered from a devastating loss by sharing how creativity can help us heal from life's most dreadful traumas. This is a must-read for professionals and anyone recovering from any kind of loss, as it can provide comfort, hope and a trustworthy path toward healing." Carol S. Peason, author of The Hero Within, Awakening the Heroes With, and Persephone Rising: Awakening the Heroine Within "A lovely, inspiring book about the rich interplay of life and art. Through her moving personal story of a difficult childhood, the struggle to find the right kind of love, a devastating tragedy, and her career as a wide-ranging, prize-winning artist, Carol Walsh shows us how creative work may, over and over again, nourish us, sustain us, and retrieve us even from the worst that life may toss us." Sara Taber, author of Born Under an Assumed Name "When Carol Walsh was faced with the sudden and shocking death of her beloved fianc she knew, as a psychotherapist, that many trauma survivors never recover from loss. In this tender memoir, she shows us how she found salvation by relying upon her innate expressions of creativity. Painting Life reminds us that an artistic perspective can shift even the most distressing trauma into transformation." Lynn Grodzki, LCSW, MCC, author of Building Your Ideal Private Practice

Author Bio

Carol K. Walsh graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BFA. As a serious artist, she wrote and illustrated a hard cover book for fiber artists, Design for Weaving, published by Hastings House of New York and reprinted in paperback by Interweave Press; was a part of numerous exhibits; won international prizes; and lectured nationally. Later, Walsh graduated from Catholic University of America with an MSW and opened a private practice. As a therapist, she wrote and self-published The Art of Awakening Spirit. In addition she wrote and illustrated forty, 30004000 word articles for Pathways, a Washington DC publication, and subsequently consolidated her articles into a paperback book, Break Through: Coping Skills for Chaotic Times. Walsh has been happily married for twenty-two years and is the proud mother of two daughters and four grandchildren. She lives in Maryland.