Detox Your Heart - by Valerie Mason-John (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Drawing on her own experiences with abuse and addiction, Valerie Mason-John presents a well-grounded series of meditations that transform anger, hatred, and fear to heal emotional trauma.

Valerie Mason-John knows what it is like to be filled with toxic emotions--and how to release them. After years of abuse and struggles with addiction, she was mired in anger, resentment, and fear. But through meditation and willingness to forge a new path, she learned how to disarm such toxins and find peace.

In Detox Your Heart Mason-John helps us recognize our emotions, good and bad, and to develop the self-care to heal ourselves. Chapters that explore and clearly define negative emotions are paired with chapters on how to transform them. Meditation exercises based on the Buddhist principles of mindfulness, loving-kindness, and compassion provide tools to help us heal our own hurts and to close the gap that toxic emotions create between heart and mind.

Review Quotes

"An optimal resource for those suffering from addictions as well as destructive mental attitudes."-- "Library Journal"

"At this crucial time when the world needs clarity and wisdom, Detox Your Heart calls us to our power, offering guidance in letting go and befriending our world from the inside out. Valerie Mason-John's words spring from the heart and ring with unmistakable grace and genuineness."--Ruth King, author of Healing Rage

"Author Valerie Mason-John knows trauma from the inside out, and also the practices that can heal and free our hearts. For anyone who wants to engage with emotions in a transformational way, this book is filled with practical and powerful wisdom."--Tara Brach, author of Radical Acceptance

"In Detox Your Heart Valerie Mason-John, a poetic and humane writer helps us to creatively engage with our difficult emotions. This is a thoughtful, kind, and exploratory manual, which gives precise practical advice. It is essential reading for people who do not want to fight or ignore difficult emotions but who long for a way to understand and work with them. What struck me was the gentleness combined with the directness of her approach. As Mason-John has used these techniques herself and also with her clients, the descriptions come alive and with great vividness."--Martine Batchelor, author of Let Go: A Buddhist Guide to Breaking Free of Habits

"Valerie Mason-John clearly understands how to handle anger skillfully, in ways that support the healing of the heart. Because she understands it from her own experience, Valerie is well positioned to help others work with it. If you suffer from anger and don't know what do about it--this is a book for you."--Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness and Real Happiness

About the Author

Valerie Mason-John is a former journalist and currently a trainer in anger management who speaks openly from her personal experience of conflict, anger, and fear. Mason-John spent most of her childhood in foster homes and childcare facilities in Great Britain. After studying philosophy and politics at Leeds University during the 1980s, Mason-John earned degrees in creative writing and theatrical performance. By 2003, her interest in counseling and her ordination into the Western Buddhist Order led her into writing and performing, and on training herself and others in anger management and conflict resolution. In December, 2007, Mason-John was named Honorary Doctor of Letters by The University of East London. Mason John continues to write, work as a self-awareness trainer; she performs and lectures internationally. Mason-John lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.