“Prayers for healing recovery” is more than a journal. Although the book is only 87 pages in length, it feels like a full-fledged journal with multiple voices. It is divided into sections of non-fiction essays (book reviews, fiction, poetry and interviews), and has sections for poetry, fiction, poetry and interviews. Each piece in “Recovering Self” may not be appealing to everyone. However, it has something for all readers – most likely a lot of them – and can help each of us grow.

It would be impossible to go through every detail of the journal. However, I will briefly summarize some of the most important pieces for me to give you an idea of the general definition of recovery.

Christy Lowry’s book “Forgiveness: a God Thing?” This story concerns a woman who learns to forgive a man whose car hit her child and killed her. The article addressed forgiveness as well as overcoming grief. This was definitely one of the most important themes in the journal and something that we must all face.

Frank A. Gerbode’s article, “A Theory of Resilience”, offered insight into how to handle traumatic experiences and the degree of stress. He writes clearly using an example of a musical performance he misjudged and how falling over the music stand during practice would have caused more stress than it did during the performance. It helps you understand the differences in stress for different situations. I must say that I was impressed with the contribution of Frank Gerbode, a metapsychologist, to this journal. This raises my hopes for future outstanding issues.

Sam Vaknin has a thorough discussion on gender and sexuality, including whether it’s biological or cultural, in “Sex, Gender and Personality Disorders”. This discussion isn’t new. However, he offered much information to help people form opinions.