The Garden Within by Anita Phillips

 

The Garden Within by Dr. Anita Phillips blends faith, trauma/mental health information and gardening illustrations into a book that I think many people can relate to.

The Garden Within starts out with a forward by Sarah Jakes Roberts. I am not familiar with her but she wrote a nice introduction to the book that shows she knows the author well and that she has related much of this information to her own personal life.

The Garden Within is also divided into three parts: Part one is Soil Power. This section starts with relating your faith and emotions including the need to be nurtured to seedlings. The second part is Deeply Rooted. If you have grown anything at all, you know how important roots are to a plant. The third section is The Embodied Garden. This section relates the heart and body to the garden. Also, how our emotional health affects our physical health--with more answers from the garden.

This book was interesting for the most part. It was also easy to read and understand. Dr. Phillips grew up with a sibling that was diagnosed with schizophrenia and it affected their whole family. They held on to their faith in the midst of everything but they also faced challenges within their family and on their own. Dr. Phillips became a trauma therapist to help others deal with the traumas and mental challenges that they have faced. I liked how she related what she learned to plants and seedlings--including our neurons. At the same time, it takes me some time to read and go through books like this as I want to learn as much as I can. This book wasn't a quick read for me. Dr. Phillips addresses trauma, grief, mental illness, relationships, family issues, loneliness, and more. There is likely something in The Garden Within that you can learn from and relate to. I find it helpful to read books like this with a journal or a notebook to jot down information and questions to work through along with the book. I would encourage you to pick up a copy of The Garden Within and read it however it best helps you.

I received a copy through Frontgate Media and the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.

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Author bio: 

Dr. Anita Phillips, LCSW-C is a trauma therapist, life coach, and minister. Widely recognized as a thought leader at the intersection of mental health, faith, and culture, Dr. Anita holds degrees from the University of Maryland and Regent University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a dynamic speaker and podcast host who adores her family and friends, a good pint of ice cream, and sitting by the ocean.

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