Wounded healers : the gift of wounds and the healing they bring

Henri Nouwen popularised the expression 'The Wounded Healer,' the title of his most famous book which explores ways in which the wounds of a minister can heal others in pastoral situations.

Wounded Healers applies the concept to the most prevalent wounds of a 21st century world characterised by the postmodern scars of religious alienation and psychological confusion, and in which daytime television programmes seem to have taken over from the privacy of the confessional and the psychiatrist's chair by inviting people to share their hurts in front of millions and shaming publicly those who have caused the pain. By looking back at the lives of Wounded Healers such as Vincent van Gogh, Henri Nouwen, Stanley Spencer and Br Roger of Taize, Nouwen's biographer Michael Ford explores the healing potential of those wounded by Loneliness, Rejection, Neglect, Addiction, Gossip, Clericalism and Disunity.