The Healing Heart for Communities: Storytelling for Strong and Healthy Communities

The Healing Heart provides powerful examples of the use of stories and storytelling in encouraging resiliency, empathy, respect, and healing. These engaging books contain stories, and narratives about the use of the stories in activities with different populations (children, teens, those with disabilities, seniors, inmates, etc.) or which address specific social or community problems (addictions, poverty, violence, racism, environmental degra-dation, homelessness, abuse).

The books are a collective effort containing the expertise of more than 60 storytellers and health professionals who illustrate the power of story in moving others to commitment and action, in building self-esteem and mutual respect.

The Healing Heart ~ Families focuses on families, dealing specifically with healing through story, health promotion, disease prevention, early childhood intervention, children with medical problems, adopting families, schools, sexual identities, grief, and spiritual healing. The Healing Heart ~ Communities focuses on community-building, with sections on youth, violence prevention, poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse and addiction, racism, elders, culture, environmental protection, homelessness, and community development.

Allison Cox is a therapist and Prevention Specialist, in Tacoma, Washington, with 20 years experience as a professional storyteller, and is a founder of the Healing Story Alliance—part of the National Storytelling Network.

David Albert is a storyteller, writer, and Senior Planner and Policy Analyst with the Washington State Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and a contributor to Spinning Tales, Weaving Hope (New Society, 2002).