Illness and the Art of Creative Self-Expression: Stories and Exercises from the Arts for Those With Chronic Illness Review

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(More customer reviews)This is a unique, easy to read, well written self-help book that teaches the reader practical ways to use "art-making" to achieve greater health and happiness. It is written primarily for the person with a serious health problem, but it is useful reading for professionals caring for seriously or chronically ill persons. It teaches both groups of people how to bring art and self-expression into their lives.
The author has developed exercises to bring out the creative self-exppression each person possesses and to teach people to live for the moment, let go of negative thoughts or the pressure to achieve, and to enjoy the hidden artist within. The author's writing style is appealing because it is so rhythmic, flowing, and conversational that one feels as though one is sitting across from him and conversing. His style is direct and warm,and as one becomes engaged with the text and its exercises for self-expression, one comes away with a deeper understanding of,and a renewed appreciation of, the creative self-expression we all have hidden within us.
The author's writing is optimistic, hopeful, sensitive, and empathic. It is as if he has crawled into the skin of the person with an illness and is able to feel or think what he or she feels and thinks. He presents a holistic, integrated approach (using artistic or self-expression exercises) to help people take hold of theis lives, and in the face of serious illness, to feel in command. It is a moving and absorbing book with special insights into the world of people with serious illness.

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As patients and practitioners challenge the very nature of Western medicine, unconventional doctors like the well-known Patch Adams become American heroes. Dr. John Graham-Pole, who has a conventional medical degree and specializes in chronic and terminal illness, is such a doctor. He has sought to humanize the care of patients by introducing the arts - music, dance, painting, theater, writing, puppetry, clowning, and magic - into the hospital setting. In this volume, inspiring stories illustrate how patients engaging in the arts respond better to physical setbacks, are more adept at expressing their emotions, and find more spiritual peace in the midst of their illness.

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