January 8, 2026 with Bloomsbury Publishing

 

HEALING THROUGH WONDER

How Awe Restores Us After Trauma and Loss

 

 

DESCRIPTION

 

"Val Walker's profound journey through trauma and spiritual exploration is both heart-wrenching and inspiring. This book beautifully captures the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of connection and awe."--Shari Botwin, LCSW, Keynote speaker, Media Contributor and Author of Thriving After Trauma: Stories of Living and Healing, and Stolen Childhoods: Thriving After Abuse.

Val's story of healing began in her darkest moment.

 

Homeless, running from a violent partner, and battling suicidal depression, she found herself sitting by a river holding a bottle of pills in one hand and a bottle of red wine to wash them down in the other. Out of the twilight sky a majestic blue heron circled and landed just a few feet away. Something in the heron's piercing eyes caused her to stop swallowing the pills. In that moment, she realized that there was just too much beauty and magic in the world to give up.

 

Thus began a decades-long quest to understand how wondrous encounters can spark healing from trauma and grief. This inspiring guide shares stories of profound, transformational experiences from four profiles alongside her own, and unpacks the neuroscience that explains how wonder helps our brains and bodies heal.

 

PRAISE

"Healing Through Wonder is a powerful work — urging readers to draw upon their own resilience, particularly a sense of wonder as they cope with loss. This book is a gift to anyone who is bereaved." — Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, Senior Vice-President for Grief Programs, The Hospice Foundation of America, Author, Disenfranchised Grief, Grief Is a Journey, When We Die

"Healing Through Wonder is a luminous testament to the transformative power of awe. Blending personal vulnerability with compelling research, this book invites readers into a journey where wonder becomes a profound source of healing and hope after trauma and loss." — Scott T. Allison, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, University of Richmond, Editor of Heroism Science and the Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies, Author, Reel Heroes

 

"Walker's personal experience with trauma is both moving and beautifully written. Her study of awe as a source of healing for herself and others will bring hope, help, and pave a better future for many." — Kelsey Crowe, PhD, Co-author, There Is No Good Card for This, and Founder of Empathy Bootcamp

 

"Healing Through Wonder propels us toward health by reminding us to step outside of ourselves and to celebrate our collective humanity and the wonder of the world."— Annie Brewster, MD, Executive Director and Founder, The Health Story Collaborative, Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School, Author, The Healing Power of Storytelling

"Healing Through Wonder honors the truth that grief is not something to fix, but something to live within—and that awe and wonder can create space for healing without forcing it. Val Walker captures how openness and connection can gently accompany the grieving process, especially through the voices of those who have lived it." — Glen Lord, CEO, Peer Support Community Partners

"Val Walker is gracious enough to open up about her own experiences and show us that the space that exists between trauma and self-compassion has the potential to make us feel comfortable in who we are and how far we have come."— Lindsay Weisner, Psy. D., Co-Author of Ten Steps to Finding Happy: A Guide to Permanent Satisfaction, Author of the Psychology Today Blog "The Venn Diagram Life"

"In a world that often demands neat answers and swift resolutions, Healing Through Wonder offers something profoundly different: a compassionate embrace of mystery, awe, and the slow unfolding of healing. Val Walker's exquisite blend of personal memoir, neuroscience, and community stories honors trauma and grief not as brokenness to be 'fixed' but as wounds that call for gentle reverence and presence. This book reminds us that the path to wholeness needs courage but also moments of breathless wonder—moments that open us to life's beauty and connection."— Antonieta Contreras, Author of How Deep Is the Wound? and Traumatization and Its Aftermath
 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Introduction

PART ONE My Story of Healing Through Wonder
Preface: Hope, Wonder, and Comfort: Encounters with Wild Birds

Chapter 1. The Providence of Herons
Disappearing into the Light
Tricks of Light
The Blue Heron
Back to My Senses

Chapter 2. Learning from Herons
Failing Psychotherapy
What Herons Taught Me
My Blue Notebook

Chapter 3. Finding Peace Through Wonder
Building on Strengths
The Luna Moth and the Butterfly
Maine

Chapter 4. Reclaiming My Sense of Wonder
My Little Book of Wonders
Discovering the Neuroscience of Awe and Wonder
Sharing Moments of Awe and Wonder with Others

PART TWO Stories of Healing Through Wonder
Preface: Introducing Four Wondrous Profiles

Chapter 5. Robyn Houston-Bean: Living with Uncertainty Through Awe and Wonder
Robyn's Story
The Dragonfly
Sharing Awe and Wonder in Relationships and Groups
How Wonder Helps Us Live with Uncertainty
Robyn's Wonder Wisdom in a Nutshell

Chapter 6. Luke Schmaltz: Finding Wonder in Everyday Conversations
Luke's Story
The Wonder of Voice
The Art of Finding Wonder in People
Luke's Wonder Wisdom in a Nutshell

Chapter 7. Carol Bowers: Healing Through Sharing Awe and Wonder
Carol's Story
Jeff
Holding On
The Healing Power of Sharing Awe with Others
Carol's Wonder Wisdom in a Nutshell

Chapter 8. Ricky Allen: The Awe-Inspiring Kindness of a Stranger
Ricky's Story
A Second Chance Put into Action
How Awe Inspires Us to Care for Others
Ricky's Wonder Wisdom in a Nutshell

PART THREE The Healing Power of Awe and Wonder
Preface: Opening to Wonder: An Invitation

Chapter 9. Bringing Awe and Wonder into Our Lives
Protecting Our Sense of Wonder in a Cynical World
The Worlds of Wonder Around Us

Chapter 10. Resilience and Community Through Awe and Wonder
A Red-tailed Hawk
A Willingness to Be Amazed
Paths to Resilience
Creating Community Through Awe and Wonder

Appendix: A Friendly Guide to Wondrous Things

 

 

LISTEN to hear Arroe Collins interview author Val Walker on his "Like It's Live" podcast about Healing Through Wonder.

 

 

VAL'S OTHER BOOKS