Well-Come Grace

Many people are dissatisfied with their looks: where this mushrooms into clinical obsession ('Body Dysmorphic Disorder'), this can have wide-ranging life consequences which require diagnosis and treatment. Using a combination of verse, prose and illustration, the author conveys her feelings and conclusions about her decades-long journey of healing from a mental disorder. The Biblical image of the olive tree and its grafts is her inspiration, as she follows a two-phase journey of healing: 1) The faith step: following her father into a mental hospital she finds the key to survival, so closing the door on suicide. 2) The step of insight: working with her therapist through partial diagnoses to uncover the core disorder and receive healing through a symbol of grace.