The Path to Healing is a Spiral: One woman's journey to emotional healing

(Paperback, 0th New edition)

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A funny and profound memoir about trauma healing written by a Reiki Master, witch and tarot reader. The debut non-fiction by a YA, crime and romance novelist, Anna's story is heartbreaking, compelling and hilariously ridiculous. What would you do to heal emotional trauma Anna was screaming at full volume into a pillow in a grey industrial estate when it dawned on her that maybe this was a slightly unusual way of processing grief. It wasn't the first time she had done something a little odd to try and make sense of things. There was the time she sobbed along to Elton John with a room full of strangers. Or the very special experience of trying to enact the spirit of a deer in a school hall. She's tried Reiki, reflexology, BodyTalk, shamanic healing, past life regression, breathwork, guided visualization, dreamwork, magick ritual, (disastrous) gong baths and meditation - her journey has been long and twisting, but eventually it led to real understanding, and real healing. This book is about acknowledging our trauma, looking at what it actually is, and feeling our feelings. Interviews with practitioners and experts delve deeper into what alternative therapies offer. Ultimately, Anna hopes to trigger much-needed conversations about emotional health and the non-mainstream ways we can communicate with ourselves and others. Content warning- suicide, child illness, depression, bereavement, explicit medical detail

Reviews

"This is an incredibly grounded book, full of humour, compassion and wisdom. Anna McKerrow explores various approaches to healing while steadfastly resisting ableism and toxic positivity. It is a powerful read with a great deal to offer anyone who needs to take better care of themselves." - Nimue Brown, author and reviewer

"A funny, poignant, emotional journey to healing - a gripping read and accessible to all. There's so much in this wonderful book that can benefit all women, everywhere." - Lu Hersey, author

"Full of hope and practical advice for readers." - LoveReading review

Author Bio

Anna McKerrow is a poet and writer of Young Adult and adult novels. She also writes women's fiction and cozy mysteries under the name Kennedy Kerr. Following Anna's critically acclaimed YA Greenworld trilogy, about a feminist and ecopagan community of witches in Devon and Cornwall, she wrote Daughter of Light and Shadows, an adult fantasy romance set in Scotland and the faerie realm, which was shortlisted for the Romantic Novelist Award, followed by the sequel, Queen of Sea and Stars. In 2019 she published a standalone occult novel, The Book of Babalon, and in 2021 self-published a magical story about bereavement, death and the process of a spirit's passing into the next world, The Bird Atlas. Anna is a Reiki Master, having used reiki since 2004, an eclectic witch and reads the tarot.