FOR YOUR HEALTH: Poems That Can Help With Healing In Hard Times

A new book—by a woman who’s been there—can, with empathy and even humor, help many people get through difficult times.

(NAPSI)—You may be able to bring some comfort to your friends and family members who have been grieving a loss in these difficult days.

Poetry And Emotion

There’s a new book that can help heal the hearts and minds of people who have lost jobs, opportunities, homes, even loved ones. Called “Words for the Unbearable: A Journey Through Loss” (IngramSpark), it was written by psychologist Enid Sanders, who has had her own losses to deal with.

When her first child, Keri, died, the young mother spilled out a series of poems and put them away in a drawer. Decades later, when her husband Andrew died, she took them out and started writing again. At first she wrote for herself, for Andrew and to Andrew. A poem would rise up out of nowhere and she’d jump up and scribble it down, not knowing how it would end until she wrote the last word.

Little by little, she shared the poems with friends and fellow therapists who pushed her to turn them into a book. The title comes from a friend who read the poems and said, “These are words for me, words for the unbearable.” Because it is poetry, the book reaches people at a deep level, helping therapists, patients, hospice workers, clergy, and anyone who grieves.

Yet the book is not really sad. It’s helpful, engaging and even rather funny in spots because it tells the truth about grieving without self-pity—including the fact that it can make everyone a little crazy.

Dr. Sanders also brings 34 years of experience as a noted clinical psychologist and bereavement counselor to writing this book. Having trained with internationally renowned child abuse expert Eliana Gil and specialized in helping abuse survivors for 18 years, she now focuses on helping clients negotiate grief and transition.

Doctor’s Opinions 

As Dr. Gil herself put it: “I am wiping tears so that I can write…I feel as though I’ve been seen and heard and understood. Each poem is a picture memory, a reminder, a suggestion, a loving gesture, words that attest to the author’s love. I thought only I loved so deeply and hurt so profoundly, but she’s captured and clarified grief so well, it was comforting to read her words, even though many hurt like hell…Enid Sanders’ words evoke strong feelings and encourage reflection, while providing the strange comfort that comes from being understood.”

Added psychiatrist Daniel Kostalnick, MD: “It is rare that an author can capture both the emotional and intellectual experience of grief, but Dr. Sanders has succeeded…Most of us find it impossible to express that experience, but Dr. Sanders uses her work as a psychologist—and a poet—to help the reader identify, name, and deal with the profound and universal aspects of grief…a work of compassion and understanding that comes from the soul of someone who has loved deeply.”

Many therapists recommend the book to grieving patients and it can inspire people to write their own poetry, or to paint or find another creative outlet for their feelings.

Learn More

For further facts or to order the book go to www.wordsfortheunbearable.com. It’s also available from Amazon and other booksellers.