Designed to Heal: What the Body Shows Us About Healing Wounds, Repairing Relationships, and Restoring Community, Jennie A. McLaurin and Cymbeline Tancongco Culiat (Tyndale Momentum, Carol Streams, 2021)
Bookshelves are lined with volumes advising readers how to end conflict, heal broken relationships and deal with the inevitable wounds of life. These books usually base their teachings on scientific studies, psychological or sociological viewpoints, common sense, or personal experience. McLaurin and Culiat’s book, Designed to Heal, gains their understanding of healing from a different perspective—the human body. The authors describe the wonderful and amazing actions the body takes in order to heal a wound. They then apply these actions to the wounds, or conflicts, we encounter in our daily lives.
For me, it was fascinating to learn about the ballet that the body performs whenever it is injured. I tend to take the healing process for granted. In order for a wound to heal and health to return, however, the body gathers resources from all parts of the body and brings them to the wound. Then, in a well-choreographed dance, steps are taken to close the wound, prevent infection and move forward towards total healing.
A few practical steps that we learn for conflict resolution is that conflict needs to be addressed immediately—it can’t be allowed to fester. Cooperation is needed by all parties involved, if the conflict is to be resolved, and a variety of resources can be used.
I didn’t discover any surprises about conflict in this book. Rather, I was affirmed in the use of practical, down-to-earth, methods of conflict resolution. I think this book is a good read because of the sense of awe it creates over the body’s healing process, and its practical applications to everyday life. Readers open this book knowing that they will learn many things about their bodies and perhaps a few things about conflict and life as well.
I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.