Gail is another 2008 alumnus who wrote a book and generously offered it to all of us at this past Alumni Gathering. She calls it her ‘first DLM’, having written it right before she found and attended BBSH.
In her Forward Gail writes: “This book is about the human need for attachment: to be truly seen, touched, felt, sensed, nourished, valued, celebrated, and loved to the very core of one’s being, beyond mere appearances.”
Unique to this book is the fact that there are actually two stories here. The book begins with an essay for the adult self, written about the ‘Other Woman”—the total of all the unclaimed parts of a beautiful lost self. Collect all those shattered pieces Gail encourages, and with love, care and patience put them together to know that She is you.
In her own journey to find herself, Gail has been using her longing for integration and wholeness in her therapeutic work as a psychotherapist. Using these experiences of self and other, the second part of her book is a child’s fairy tale—Serena’s search for truth and beauty. As Gail states, her “intention as author and illustrator is to present this book as a mirror” for without a good mirror there can’t be a good reflection.
As Serena journeys, her life experiences shape who she becomes. What I found most interesting was that this journey did not just include collecting the ingredients for her mirror, but also finding the most beautiful things to create the frame for it as well.
In her travels her relationships with those who help her are also important. “After all, thought Serena, a whole, true reflection is really a dance between the public and private person.” In the end the angels come to give their blessing, and Serena recognizes herself in the mirror, vowing to share it with anyone who wants to gaze into it.