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Wilderness of the Heart: A Healing Journey to Love Boldly and Serve Freely
Paperback
CatholicismChristian LivingSelf-Help
Publisher Price: $17.95
ISBN13: 9781646804436
Publisher: Ave Maria Press
Published: Oct 30 2026
Pages: 160
Language: English
A flagship Catholic mental health guide to emotional and spiritual healing--where God's love restores.
We all carry places within us that feel untamed, shameful, or broken. And yet, beneath it all, there is a deeper longing to be fully known and loved by God.
In Wilderness of the Heart, Sr. Josephine Garrett, CSFN--religious sister, licensed Catholic therapist, national speaker, and best-selling author--offers a powerful, faith-based approach to mental health, inner healing, and spiritual renewal. Drawing from clinical experience and deep Catholic spirituality, she guides you into the interior landscape of your own heart--not with judgment, but with compassion, clarity, and hope.
What does it mean to let God love you in your wounds? How can you begin to experience emotional healing, freedom from past pain, and lasting peace through a relationship with him?
Through three distinct stages, Sr. Josephine offers a path forward:
- Understanding the Heart: Discover how your heart reflects the image of God and the ways in which it was made for love.
- Healing the Wounds: Bring your burdens, distortions, and pain to the Father who heals with mercy.
- Offering the Heart: Let Christ reign in your heart so that you can embrace his mission of loving others more fully.
We don't shy away from the hard stuff, states Sr. Josephine. We're going to talk about sin and about the past, but all with the purpose of acknowledging what's there so that we can bring it to Jesus. The point of it all is to become a vessel of love in the world--to carry the Gospel to the edges of the earth. But first we must tend the garden of our hearts and fix our gaze on the Father's love.
Written by a licensed professional who actively works with patients, Wilderness of the Heart offers a practical framework for healing for those beginning the journey or seeking a renewed perspective. Through exercises, inventories, charts, and guided prompts, Sr. Josephine invites you to engage your story and cooperate with God's grace. Above all, her greatest hope is that you will come to accept healing as a lifelong journey and learn to delight in an ever-deepening intimacy with Jesus.
Rooted in scripture, enriched by the wisdom of the saints, and informed by therapeutic insight, Wilderness of the Heart stands apart as a trusted companion for anyone seeking emotional healing, inner peace, and wholeness--not by striving harder but by learning to receive God's love more deeply.
This is an invitation to enter the wilderness within--and discover that God is already there, waiting to restore your heart and make you new through his healing love.
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