Overview

Night Sea Journeying explores the psycho-spiritual healing needed to recover from the damage caused by childhood trauma and the soul recovery that will happen if we can allow it. The journey is one of death and rebirth, where the old order and the dispiriting grip of trauma can be lessened and something new and more mature be spiritually born in its place. The universal myth of the night sea journey and parts of St. Mark's Gospel provide a framework for reflecting on the mind, body, and spirit journey needed to overcome and get freer from past pain. Insights from trauma-informed theology, analytical psychology, psychoanalysis, and yoga teaching are illustrated by drawing on the experiences of (among others) Thomas Merton, James Finley, and Carl Jung. Alongside this the reader follows in each chapter the compelling stories of two people in spiritual direction, who through different and sometimes very unexpected ways have confronted their inner anguish and found soul recovery, spiritual renewal, and psychic integration.

Full Product Details

9798385227846

Table of Contents

Reviews

""This deeply insightful book stresses the recovery potential of exploring the spiritual dimension when dealing with psychological trauma. The evocative night sea journey metaphor perfectly captures how emotionally deprived and abused children can heal and grow through facing their inner turmoil. Using vivid case histories, plus a rich interpretation of New Testament texts, combined with masterly advice from the likes of Carl Jung and Thomas Merton, Gardner proves herself a rare and valuable guide."" --Larry Culliford, Psychiatrist and author of The Psychology of Spirituality ""Fiona's book is a powerful, unsentimental exploration of trauma's impact on the soul. Through poetic storytelling, gospel imagery, and sea metaphors, she guides readers from brokenness to restoration. Her vignettes reveal Christ's radical love for the traumatized while blending insights from psychotherapy and spiritual direction. Muscular yet grace-filled, this work offers professional, personal, and spiritual wisdom, summoning the authentic, God-given self in those shaped by relational trauma."" --Belinda West, Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist and Priest ""To read Fiona Gardner's Night Sea Journeying: Soul Recovery from Childhood Trauma is to be touched. Gardner writes with rare compassion and profound wisdom. Drawing from Jung, Merton, and decades of clinical insight, Gardner accompanies survivors into the hidden depths of their own souls, revealing that even after devastation, the divine inner other transforms trauma, illuminating its darkness. Soul recovery unfolds as Gardner tenderly invites the survivor to enter and experience a very sacred journey."" --Stephanie Arel, Lecturer, Fordham University, New York ""Fiona Gardner's Night Sea Journeying is a wonderful book which explores trauma and abuse in infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and the potential for recovery. Drawing upon her experience as a spiritual director as well as her knowledge of theology and analytical psychology, she describes the process of reuniting parts of ourselves that may be hidden or in exile. Significant insights emerge not only through her knowledge of Carl Jung and Thomas Merton, but especially through her inclusion of the stories of clients that describe their own journeys toward wholeness."" --Ed Sellner, Professor Emeritus of Theology and Spirituality, St. Catherine University, Minnesota

Author Information

Fiona Gardner is a spiritual director and writer living in the UK. She previously worked as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist and as safeguarding advisor for the Church of England. Recent publications include Taking Heart (2021), Sex, Power, Control: Responding to Abuse in the Institutional Church (2021), and The Only Mind Worth Having: Thomas Merton and the Child Mind (2015).

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