Based on true events, The Healing is the story of Cate Henderson who, after twenty-six years in an abusive relationship, sets out on a quest to find healing.

Cate packs up everything she owns and leaves Calgary on an odyssey westward, to Vancouver Island, where her ever-present journal and the abundance of nature become the foundation of her self-recovery.

She yearns for something deeper and then, when she isn’t looking, she finds love with the solid and virtuous Ethan. Cate thinks his steadfast love is what she is searching for, but soon realizes she needs to do her own work, that love for herself is the key.

Cate gets thrown off-course when Lyme Disease, an earthquake in Nepal, her daughter’s mental health challenges, and her move with Ethan to the Middle East, cause her to lose her newfound awareness. Her heart calls her to endure the lows and enjoy the highs, to let go of the ties that bind and the fear that controls. With echoes of Eat, Pray, Love, The Healing is a raw and vulnerable exploration of human resilience. At times both painful and uplifting, it’s a story about love, examining motherhood, partnership, grief, expectation and optimism, and the journey inward to self-love.

The Healing is partner published by the author, Lynda Faye Schmidt, with OC Publishing.