Author : Daniel McCann
Publisher : University of Wales Press
ISBN 13 : 1786833328
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (868 download)
Book Synopsis Soul-Health by : Daniel McCann
Download or read book Soul-Health written by Daniel McCann and published by University of Wales Press. This book was released on 2018-10-15 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soul-Health explores the connection between reading and healing. The act of reading engages deeply with our emotions and psychology, and this book broadens our understanding of that process by the surprising revelation that feeling bad has been understood as the best thing for mental and spiritual health. The mental and emotional impact of reading expanded in the Middle Ages into a therapeutic tool for improving the health of the soul – a state called salus animae – and focusing on later Medieval England, the present study explores a core set of religious texts that identify themselves as treatments for the soul. These same texts, however, evoke powerfully negative emotions. Soul-Health investigates each of these emotions, offering an analysis of how fear, penance, compassion and longing could work to promote the health of the soul, demonstrating how interest in mental and spiritual health far pre-dates the modern period, and is more complex and balanced than simply trying to achieve joy.