Publisher's Synopsis
This book concerning the healing power of poetry is divided into two parts:
1) The anthology: Gathering Flowers: Living with the Death of a Child and
2) a contextual essay which includes: an introduction of the healing power of poetry; an examination of the National Association of Poetry Therapy, including the healing potential of reading poetry; writing poetry, and poetry therapy, not all equally the same in its healing potential; empirical knowledge, including personal knowledge; of the healing power of poetry, including studies by Stuckey & Nobel and by Spann; a situating of Gathering Flowers: Living with the Death of a Child among existing anthologies of grief and healing poetry; reflections on creative process, including the Platonic and Aristotelian theories; method for compiling the anthology; an assessment of what the anthology accomplishes; the psychological theories of healing power of poetry; a critical examination of the poems written by grieving mothers; contextual reflections on the themes covered in the poems, as well as the psychological theories on the healing power of poetry; past research including prior literature on prolonged grief disorder and pathological grief; exclusively women as subject of study; a review of prior anthologies on grief, which showcases the uniqueness of the anthology, Gathering Flowers; and recommendations for future research.
