Poems of Mourning and Healing Memory

Poems of Mourning and Healing Memory is a book that tells of the author's coming to terms with the death of his parents. The book begins with the author's father--and the author himself--dealing with the death of wife and mother. It continues with the author's powerful encounter with his dying father, then proceeds with poems mourning his father's death and its aftermath. The second half of the book contains poems which remember and honor significant people and experiences in the author's life. As a pastoral psychotherapist, the author finds the Bible and spirituality to be major healing resources, along with memories of some key people he writes about who have helped him grow and heal in his life. What happens in writing is a mysterious and awesome thing, and the very process of remembering and writing these poems has helped the author mourn and find some healing. Perhaps these poems will trigger your own memories; resonate with various layers of your experiences; help you move through your own grief; and perhaps encourage you to do some writing of your own!

""Poems of Mourning and Healing Memory is a beautiful book and an important resource for anyone who faces the suffering, mystery, and unfolding of death, illness, loss, emptiness, anger, and love. . . . This book is highly recommended.""
--Rich Pfeiffer, President, National Anger Management Association

""With apparently simple narration [Carroll] invites personal identification with a strong emotional charge. . . . He weaves psychotherapeutic experience, encounter with the Divine, and a sense of relatedness of persons to each other and to life.""
--Dan R. Bottorff, Marriage and Family Therapist, Westfield, New Jersey

""The flow of the Holy Spirit is what Carroll's writing reminds me of. His words collectively dig deep and with power.""
--Carol Van Slooten, Performing Piano Artist and Accompanist, Village 7 Presbyterian Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

""Arkema's poems are extraordinary--deeply moving, evocative, profoundly spiritual. He depicts with graphic detail transformative moments in our life cycle . . . . This is a remarkable collection.""
--Monica McGoldrick, Director of the Multicultural Family Institute in Highland Park New Jersey, Author of The Genogram Journey: Reconnecting with Your Family

""I was hooked from the beginning! Arkema has beautifully crafted a treasure trove of poems that evoke powerful emotions as he takes the reader on a journey of loving remembrance. . . . Arkema's pastoral and therapist's voice is clearly heard through his writing. All who read it will be touched.""
--Joan R. Bouwma, Clinical Social Worker, Retired

""Simply reading through this enthralling collection is itself a healing process. Carroll Arkema's poems--at once intensely personal and universal, earthy and deeply spiritual--reflect a rare sensibility. All who have ever mourned--that is, all of us--would do well to read and savor this important book.""
--Charles Mayer, Episcopal Priest, Psychotherapist


Carroll E. Arkema (Calvin College; Princeton Theological Seminary; Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute) is an ordained Presbyterian Minister serving as a Pastoral Psychotherapist and Marriage and Family Therapist in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and in Manhattan. He is the author of Beyond Me: Poems about Spirit in Scripture, Psychotherapy, and Life. He was on the Faculty at Blanton-Peale for sixteen years in the Psychotherapy Training Program and Director of the Spirituality and Psychotherapy Training Program.