Glimmers of Hope
Toward the Healing of Painful Life Experiences through Narrative Counseling
Edited by Tapiwa N. Mucherera
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
Every individual has a story--painful or happy--and the story will only be complete and meaningful when shared with others willing to listen to it. These are the stories of several people who embarked on a journey toward healing from abortion, adoption, abuse (sexual and spousal), anger, bullying, cutting, infertility, divorce, grief, people pleasing, and fear, as well as people struggling to break the chains of psychological colonialism/neocolonialism and to survive as orphans. This book contains a wealth of knowledge on how transformation of life can take place using Narrative Counseling. Most of the stories shared in this book are personal to many of the authors. Some share their journey of struggling with hopeless situations to where they regained hope through counseling using the Narrative approach. Others, such as the orphaned children, found relief in just having someone sit with them to listen to their daily struggles of living an orphaned life. In this book you will find a place where these stories will somehow intersect with your own story. Take a chance, read, and you will find a glimmer of hope in these stories.
Tapiwa N. Mucherera is Professor of Pastoral Counseling at Asbury Theological Seminary on the Orlando Campus, Florida. He has training in Pastoral Care Counseling, Narrative Counseling, and Cross-cultural counseling. He is author of Pastoral Care from a Third World Perspective and Meet Me at the Palaver.
"Drawing on his cultural background growing up in Zimbabwe as well as his many years of teaching experience . . . Mucherera has brought together a whole host of pastoral theologians in order to demonstrate the relevance of narrative therapy for addressing contemporary pastoral-care problems. This is a much-needed reference for pastors, pastoral counselors, pastoral theologians, Christian counselors, and spiritual guides."
--Edward P. Wimberly, Professor of Pastoral Care, Interdenominational Theological Center
"This book is an excellent illustration of the transformative power of narrative practices. Mucherera has brought together contributors from diverse cultural backgrounds to demonstrate the power of narrative in moving people from painful, dominant stories to more preferred ways of being and living in the world. This is a great addition to the literature on narrative therapy and ought to be read by counselors, clergy, students, and counseling educators. I highly recommend this book."
--M. Fulgence Nyengele, Professor of Pastoral Care and Counseling, Methodist Theological School