Healing Through Wonder

How Awe Restores Us After Trauma and Loss

By: Val Walker

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eText | 8 January 2026 | Edition Number 1

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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. A must-read for anyone seeking healing and understanding. -- Shari Botwin, LCSW, author of Thriving After Trauma and Stolen Childhoods
Val Walker'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 healing stories sparked by wondrous experiences and unpacks the neuroscience that explains how wonder helps our brains and bodies heal.