Title : Mind, Pain, Feeling, Healing
Language : English
Paperback : 48 pages
ISBN-10 : 1504947193
ISBN-13 : 978-1504947190
Item Weight : 2.26 ounces
Dimensions : 5 x 0.12 x 8 inches
Lois Lund’s Mind, Pain, Feeling, Healing attempts to be an inspirational read for those suffering from mental illness, but falls short due to a lack of cohesion in its narrative and execution.
Mental illness is a condition that exacts a great toll on not only the sufferer, but everyone involved in their lives. Throughout the ages, people have been stigmatized and punished for it, but increased understanding of it in recent years has led to more people getting the treatment and support they need.
The author, Lois Lund, shares some of her own experiences in dealing with mental illness throughout the book. She is able to vividly portray the confusion and frustration that she felt when she was caught in the grip of her condition. As a reader, you can easily empathize with the pain she went through in her journey to wellness. So, as she finds the strength to get the treatment she needs, you end up cheering her on and wishing her the best.
However, the author’s good intentions for the book are not ultimately matched by both the writing and the editing. The prose tends to take on a preachy tone when Lund recounts how she found comfort in her religion and glosses over the medical help she received. To be truly inspirational and educational for fellow sufferers, it would have been helpful if she had shared more details about her treatment
journey and not simply settled on religion as the main source responsible for her wellness. Everyone’s experiences are different when it comes to treating a mental health condition, so if she had delved deeper into the many ways she sought treatment, it would have been an eye-opener for her readers.
Furthermore, the book could have used at least one more round of editorial work to tighten its structure. As it is right now, the narrative tends to be somewhat choppy as Lund jumps around from one point of her life to another without effective transitions. There were also a few notable sections where passages were repeated almost verbatim. A keener eye should have spotted these and corrected them before publication.
Overall, if you do not mind struggling a bit through some rough parts, Lois Lund’s Mind, Pain, Feeling, Healing provides a good look into one woman’s triumph over her mental health issues.