A collection of insightful essays by some of the most exceptional voices in literature, The Healing Circle explores profound questions about the experience of recovery from physical and emotional illness. The writers represented here examine their illnesses in the context of their lives, sharing personal stories about how illness affects marriage, family relationships, lifestyle, and the creative process. They illustrate how recovery can become-through the sheer power of imagination-nothing less than an act of courage, as they learn to redefine and rediscover themselves even in the face of diseases that alter their bodies and their lives. This is a sensitive and lyrical meditation on life-changing events that will make an important and lasting contribution to the vast litera- ture of illness and recovery.