The Healing

This is the inspiring story of a journey, when a young man, wounded in battle but also carrying grievous hidden inner wounds, begins the long slow road to healing and wholeness. We follow Philip’s journey from the battlefields of France to the quiet greenness and peace of rural Wales, the encounters and challenges he meets along the way all set against the vividly drawn background of the natural world, the changing seasons and the gentle rhythms of monastic life. I found Philip’s story enthralling, well told and the characters human and believable. A tale of forgiveness, hope, renewed faith, and love.

This is an account of how kindness and grace are more powerful than the sword; where Christian love reaches out to fight against self-destruction. Joy bravely draws on her own experience of pain and hopelessness in her journey back to health and strength of body and spirit. Gentle, yet forceful, her story shows how love can restore our hope and trust in both God and man.

Thirteenth century France and Wales form the backdrop to this well-researched tale of a world-weary knight and his newly found Cistercian friends. Interspersed with provocative and thought-provoking Bible verses, we are carried into a world of peace, rest and service, along with the constant worry of discovery and betrayal. A feel-good exploration of forgotten times that leaves a final lump in the throat.

What a great book. An engaging story set in a realistic historical context. If you thought living a life of faith was about following a set of cold, joyless rules, have a read of this. Take a look at Philip’s life and journey with him out of the shadows into the radiance of healing grace. Impossible to read without encountering hope.