Book Remedies

For a very long time, I have believed very strongly in the power of alternative and complementary therapies.  Some of the most important characters in my life (aka people I've known closely) have had their lives altered (and, in some cases, taken) by illnesses and disabilities, and I've found things like herbs, movement, art, and books to be incredibly powerful in helping people to deal with terribly complicated conditions.  Lupus, depression, loss . . . these things may not be curable in every case, but alt/complementary therapies can make living with them much less painful.

With that in mind, today's post is about bibliotherapy, which I am terribly passionate about because it combines a few of the best things in the world: writing, books, and helping people.  Yes, all those things together!  Yay!  

While researching bibliotherapy, I came across The Novel Cure: An A-Z of Literary Remedies. The title immediately drew me in and got me very excited, and the book is a collection of literary pieces that have been selected as (you guessed it) remedies.  Researching The Novel Cure, I found its website and discovered that it was put together by writer-teachers Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin, who run The School of Life in London and prescribe books to people to help them "deal with the daily emotional challenges of existence" (Dovey).  The Novel Cure is a bit lighter than some other bibliotherapy resources (it doesn't deal so much with ailments like cancer, etc., as it does with things like writer's block and insomnia), but it's still very helpful because the emotional swing of life can be very tiring at times.  A good book is always a good idea. 

<3 Frances