Breast cancer can be a wake-up call for many women. It interrupts our lives and may demand that we pay attention to the way we are living. This book explores associations and images that surround the illness, and offers a possible map for your own soul journey.  This is one woman's very personal story, but it touches on universal themes that may resonate with many women.  Patricia works with metaphors and meanings that connect to cancer; she uses her dreams, inner journeys, and poetry to probe beneath the literal ordeal of cancer and find greater self-awareness and authenticity. "Women diagnosed with breast cancer often describe the experience as having many layers--physical, emotional, psychological, relational, social, spiritual, and even financial. Considering the experience as a journey of the soul is an opportunity to move beyond the effects of breast cancer and into a more expansive, meaning-making exploration. Patricia's story is a generous gift to all who have experienced breast cancer and felt drawn to a deeper understanding of the point where one's essence and illness intersect. This is definitely a trip you'll be glad you took." -- Jeannie Cella , MS, LCPC, executive director of Wellness House "With compassion and intelligence, Patricia Greer offers a readable and generous personal exploration of the potential meanings of breast cancer. Embracing the symbolic attitude of Jungian methods, which activate and engage unconscious layers of psyche, she focuses on cancer as teacher, a metaphoric guide to deeper self-awareness and self-knowledge. This soulful meditation on the healing power of image is a rich, sensitive contribution full of embodied wisdom, evocative language, and transcendent depth. An inspirational book for therapists, patients, and for all women and their families and friends whose lives have been touched by cancer and illness." -- Judith Cooper , PsyD, clinical psychologist and Jungian analyst "Patricia Greer creates a profound pathway for those with cancer and their loved ones. She intimately shares the sacred healing capacity of dream and image that she personally experienced during her long journey with cancer. Her image of the single redbud tree resonated for me long after I put the book down. Joining Patricia on her underworld journey with cancer, I too was immersed in a deep experience of navigating the darkest nights of the soul. I am deeply touched by Patricia's work and feel her offering is tending the soul in and of the world." -- Stephen Aizenstat , PhD, chancellor and founding president, Pacifica Graduate Institute Patricia Greer, MA, PhD, is a 29 year survivor of breast cancer.  She has written about finding inner meaning and personal growth in her experience of the illness.  A psychotherapist and Jungian analyst, she is especially interested in helping women to access and honor their authentic selves, both in her therapeutic work and in her writing.