Courageous Healing: How to Fully and Quickly Recover from Traumatic Experiences or Feelings of Anger and Resentment

Healing Techniques Revealed in Author's Journey to Overcome Emotional Trauma

Partially sighted, Fred Craver lives in a world of dark and light guided by a white cane.Yet this challenge is easier than some of the others he has faced. In his new book, Courageous Healing: How to Fully and Quickly Recover from Traumatic Experiences or Feelings of Anger and Resentment, author Fred Craver, Ph.D., reveals for the first time new techniques for healing he discovered through his own unrelenting struggle.

His book helps people to overcome trauma and eliminate long-held feelings of anger and resentment. His technique for dealing with anger also shows people how to defuse their feelings before they evolve into serious conditions. Courageous Healing combines Fred's memoir of self-discovery and guidelines for self-healing.

In an upper middle class, well-educated family that appeared to have everything, his mother lived in constant fear of abandonment and his older brother, cruel as a child, later committed suicide. Living in this environment, Fred experienced several serious traumas that produced deep-seated emotional wounds, which eventually evolved into physical symptoms such as a persistent discomfort limiting the use of his hands, failure to recover from common illnesses within a reasonable period of time, and more-unpredictable and medically unexplainable.

As he unravels the underpinning events and circumstances of his emotional trauma, Fred describes some incidents with humor and others with such frankness his humiliation is gut-wrenchingly painful. He builds suspense by foreshadowing the debilitating consequences of these traumas. Then as the traumas emerge into a persistent emotional syndrome, there seems to be no end and no cure in sight. While the author reveals how sometimes he was discouraged along his path of self-discovery, he also demonstrates how he views each challenge as an opportunity to learn. His "I-just-don't-quit" attitude and optimism are pervasive and inspiring.

"It is even true that my declining vision has led to positive changes. As I have found myself unable to do certain things, I have become more sensitive, understanding, and compassionate toward others who are struggling with their own limitations. I have become more patient," writes Fred.

In his chapter, "The Smoking Gun," Fred finally realizes he has created, at an unconscious level, an emotional syndrome that sometimes prevents illnesses and injuries from healing. Thus begins his search for healing. Ultimately, his persistence leads him to discover ways of improving cathartic healing techniques. Although he is not a medical doctor, having a Ph.D. in physics grounds Fred in scientific methodology. He gives detailed examples of traumas he experienced and the benefits of dealing with them using his techniques:

"I feel freer and less restricted by earlier emotional impediments. I have become more self-confident, less sensitive to criticism, and more open."

His descriptions of how he discovered and uses these techniques are detailed, precise, and clearly written. A summary for each technique provides a quick reference. More traditional methods that helped him are explained as well. In the appendices, he includes a bibliography, examples, and other resources helpful for self-healing.

Courageous Healing: How to Fully and Quickly Recover from Traumatic Experiences or Feelings of Anger and Resentment, by Fred Craver, Ph.D., ISBN: 0-9749612-0-5, US $16.95. Paperback, 274 pages, 16 pictures, appendices, bibliography, and index. Available on the Web, through local bookstores, and major distributors. Riko Books, P.O. Box 173, Newton, MA 02456. Or contact the author: telephone 617-926-4124, fax 617-924-6602.