Julia: What is Along Came a Gardener about? What makes
it unique?
Diana: My non-fiction book, based on my 25 years as a family therapist,
is unique because the thoughts and experiences I share are woven in with the
lessons I found in gardening and nature. I also reveal my own stumbles, and I do it to
demonstrate how important it is to be kind to ourselves and not feel bad when
we can’t figure things out or our lives are not going as well as we had hoped. I
hope the stories in my book will inspire others to make some positive changes
in their life.
Julia: You have written several novels and poetry. What
inspired you to write this non-fiction book?
Diana: I was inspired to write this book back in the late 1970s. I was
working as a school psychologist then and a high school guidance counsellor had
referred a couple of sisters to me for counselling. They were brilliant
students but were failing. The oldest had attempted suicide. I tried family counselling,
but the mother was mentally ill, so it wasn’t possible to continue. So I saw
the sisters together and not long after I started seeing them in therapy, the
oldest wrote me a poem, titled “The Seed of Hope” and in it, I was the gardener
who had come along and planted it.
Her poem gave me an idea for a book based on my work as a
psychotherapist. I started writing it shortly after I had finished my sessions
with the sisters, but as a wife and mother of two, there wasn’t much time for writing.
I’m glad I waited, as I wasn’t ready to write this book.
Julia: What were the challenges you encountered when writing your book?
How did you deal with them?
Diana: Well, I kept wondering if I could do justice to what I had
experienced. I was so grateful for the trust that many had put in me over the years,
and I wanted to honour that trust. As you know, counselling is a confidential
service, so I was mindful to be respectful and maintain those confidences. So,
names were not divulged nor anything else that might identify those I’d seen in
therapy. I also had the help of three professional therapists who read my book beforehand,
and I was relieved to get their approval.
Julia: What are the greatest setbacks and ordeals you've dealt with as a
therapist? How did you navigate those challenges?
Diana: The greatest ordeals I experienced as a therapist were conflicts
with other professionals in the workplace. My first job after getting my Master
of Social Work in 1972 was in a psychiatric ward at Winnipeg General Hospital
(Health Sciences Center today). I was stunned to discover electric shock
therapy was being routinely prescribed for patients with depression. I didn’t
think patients had been given enough time to tell their story, the one that had
resulted in them ending up on a psychiatric ward. Since I wasn’t a
psychiatrist, the decision to give a patient shock treatment was a hard
decision to challenge. Hospital beds were at a premium and the psychiatric
staff were pressured to discharge patients as quickly as possible. Still, I
made my observations known. At the time, I didn’t realize how naïve I was, and
how I had overstepped those professional boundaries. So, it’s not surprising I
didn’t make a lot of friends amongst the staff who were used to treating
patients this way.
Another challenge I had took place in a different workplace. I was
sexually harassed by the director of the agency. After an incident where he had made sexual
remarks to me in front of a team of counsellors, I went to his office and
confronted him. I told him how uncomfortable it had made me feel, how
inappropriate his comments had been and told him to never do it again. He
didn’t.
And there was one patient who had been discharged from hospital who
called me up in the middle of the night threatening to commit suicide. I was
trained to take these threats seriously, so I got dressed and went out to meet
him at a cafe. I gave him the support he needed over a cup of coffee. It sounds
simple, but it wasn’t. Thankfully, I had established a rapport with him while
he was in hospital, and he trusted me.
Julia: Would
you like to share a personal experience that helped you to change and grow as a
human being?
Diana: Training to be a family therapist was an eye-opening experience.
I read everything available on family communication. It’s one thing to read it;
it’s another to put it into practice. In order to be a good therapist, you have
to work on yourself as well. Over the years, the knowledge I gained through my
training and work with others dealing with family conflict helped me grow as a
human being. I write about this experience, including my missteps, and more in
my book.
Julia: Is there anything else you would like to mention about the book?
Diana: Because I also have a Bachelor
of Science in Home Economics degree, I included a chapter on diet and
nutrition. I’ve always tried to practice holistically. In fact, I attended the
first Holistic Conference in Vancouver back in 1979. We have so much to deal
with to maintain our mental and physical health, so I felt I had to mention the
obvious in my book: the importance of diet, nutrition, exercise, and sleep.
Since I also gave stress management
and anger management workshops during my career as a psychotherapist, I share
helpful ideas from those times in Along Came A Gardener.
I’m hoping readers will find Along
Came A Gardener inspirational and feel less alone in the complicated world
we live in.
Thank you again, Julia. It’s been a
pleasure sharing what’s inside my new publication with you.
Julia: Thank you so much for sharing
your experience and words of wisdom at My Writing Life blog: Awareness,
Reflection, Inspiration, and I wish you all the best with the new book
release.
A former family therapist,
Diana Stevan has published poetry and five novels: A Cry from the Deep, The
Rubber Fence, Sunflowers Under Fire, Lilacs in the Dust Bowl,
and Paper Roses on Stoney Mountain.
Along
Came a Gardener, non-fiction, is her latest book. She resides with her
husband on Vancouver Island.
