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The Healings
"... an international team of researchers...has finally come to the conclusion that the cat is the manliest pet." This gem of wisdom, and many, many others, are embedded in the search of one man - and his cat - for the Truth. Join them as they travel from "healer" to "healer" in their quest for wholeness.
258 pages, Paperback
First published November 8, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 22, 2011
The Healings
Author Oana
Reviewed by Fran Lewis
One man who is struggling to find himself, deal with the horrors of life and the suffering we all face. One man who takes the reader on many different journeys along with his Cat: Her who travels with him to each place, to each person he seeks to be healed by trying to find himself and much more. The main character has no name. His black cat Her engulfs and envelopes all that is feminine or female. Each chapter captures another emotion, another flaw of the human soul. The life of this nameless man has been difficult, filled with depression and totally unbalanced. Meeting each of these healers he hopes to find someone that can turn his life around, find a healthy solution and create some semblance to reconstruct him into a healthy living human being.
Look in the mirror and what do you see: You! Your image and nothing more. The imperfections that are within you and your flaws are not readily seen unless you speak, interact with others and allow them to know the real you. You think you are perfect just by looking at your outward appearance that others think is impeccable but hidden underneath are the lies, deceits, shadows and fears that follow you wherever you go. It’s how we deal or handle them that create our own pattern in life, pitfalls and seeking our own path to self-realization or who we really are.
Oana, in The Healings introduces one man: Nameless who can be the embodiment of anyone. Let’s say he represents every one of us in some way. As he begins his journey, along one with his Black Cat: Her to try and find himself, his inner being: he will encounter over 40 different healers and meet with each one hoping to find the answers within their different philosophies and experiences that are shared. Humorous, satirical and quite unique each of these short stories or chapters will enlighten the reader to the real problem faced by our nameless man.
Every journey has a beginning at does this one as he meets with a Shaman first. Evengi Heavy Feather is really where it all begins and probably should have ended as he truly says it all in one simple phrase: Sometimes we carry a heavy burden with us: Sometimes what causes things to weigh more or prey heavily on our minds cannot always be dealt with or expressed until we decide to do something different and change our own pattern to lighten that burden or in this case the weight of a feather. Not facing the problem often increases its weight.
What about becoming a Dream Master and able to create beautiful dreams for everyone to avoid those dreaded nightmares which prey in our subconscious, ruin a good night’s sleep and are also often part of something deeper that is bothering us and we just don’t know it or refuse to face it. This journey or healing was quite funny and the end result reminds you of the inside of a dirt devil or vacuum cleaner bad and armed with his Dream Toolkit are main character feels ready and able to rid the world of bad dreams and nightmares. Instead, he faces more demons and harsh realities. Controlling your life and taking control of your anger and fears might help the need for more journeys. He still needs to define what he has to change before he can more forward without the need of all of these healings to eliminate his depression, anger and much more.
Sarcastic and despising those who are hoping or hot filled with the same despair or depression he forges ahead in search of more healers as he meet Chamoile the storyteller who can create characters to go along with his controlled plots. Allowing the listener to become the central character or focal point of the story enables him/her to fell accepted and understood. Can someone feel this way just listening to the words of others? As he leads him to a place called The Crossroads you realize all he is doing is trying to get him to choose the correct path as he decides which way to go or the crossroads of his life; good, bad or stays the same. Missed opportunities: Cannot relive them.
He meets numerous healers along the way but one incident that stands out is when he states he is going to work in a psychiatric ward and observe the behaviors of the patients and the doctors helping administer pills along the way. What he really learns is that even those working there and the healers he previously meets have issues and sometimes need to face them with help from others too which angers him even more.
Every healer that our main character meets imparts an important lesson to this man who refuses to realize that his problems stem from not facing what they are and blaming his shortcomings and failures on those trying to help him. All the while like a good wife or nurturing mother, his cat Her, keeps him centered, brings reality into focus, performs the duties of a good wife or mother and hopes he finds his own path to self-awareness and realization. Sharing each of his plans with his cat, yet wanting to embark on each journey alone, you can feel the frustration of this cat as she tries to guide him before he falls down. Each healing brings the same result: He feels cheated, lied to and the experiences because they do not come out exactly as he envisioned they would, create him more turmoil within this man and do not meet his expectations.
Too many choices, options, freedom of choice: All too often like kids, adults need some parameters and guidelines when things get tough in order to continue on. From the Master Painter to Master Whiteout our nameless man hopes to find immediate answers to his unfilled life: Can he learn how to use the right words or paint a masterpiece on the spot creating his own form of expression? You decide what lessons if any he learns as your continue the journey along with the reader and I continue my review of The Healings by this creative and outstanding author.
From thinking that he is filthy rich from his cat picking the winning lottery ticket to a rude awakening that money cannot buy you the peace and harmony you need or want, to more interviews and jobs that will make you smile, laugh and wonder Oana sets the bar when creating everyday events that go awry. Each time our main character feels the pressure he and his trusty cat either pack up and go somewhere else, find another venue to vent in or another way for both of them to escape their true realities: loneliness, confusion and dissatisfaction with their plight as they journey to many more places, meet many more people and eventually realize the end result. Added to the mix is Aunt Lyla who provides another take on his plight, encourages his fantasies and goes along with many of his dreamlike experiences reeling him in even more. The character’s he meets and their names alone will make you smile and the rationale he uses to explain each of his encounters, his excuses for his failures and successes are no different than ours today as this nameless man and his faithful cat Her continue on to many real and imaginary places to find Knowledge, inner peace and who they both are.
From Cousin Jello’s funeral to Tito Sponge a great mind to Professor Turtle ad great mind in anthropology our nameless man turns to every profession in life and more to find his way back to where he might have started from had he paid attention. I think the funniest is Dr. Iceberg who is supposed to help those in need of increasing their sex drive and tells our main character to discuss this with his significant other. Would that be the cat? Or someone else? The author closes with healing sessions in friendship, beauty, pain, bad relationships and much more that you need to read for yourself. Finally, the last healing is in the tower. Going from room to room and floor to floor allows him to relive areas of his life, healings that were described before, events that have already taken place and remembering the good and the feather and weight is now lighter and the burden and heaviness lifted. To learn more about his healing in the Tower and the others and whether he finds his true inner peace and more you need to read this mind stimulating and thought provoking account of one man’s journey to find himself. Humor reigns, philosophical discussions often interrupted with events that will make you laugh this is one book that will give the reader much pause for thought and great topics for book club discussions as each healing or chapter brings to light many issues we all face today.
Fran Lewis: reviewer
Author Oana
Reviewed by Fran Lewis
One man who is struggling to find himself, deal with the horrors of life and the suffering we all face. One man who takes the reader on many different journeys along with his Cat: Her who travels with him to each place, to each person he seeks to be healed by trying to find himself and much more. The main character has no name. His black cat Her engulfs and envelopes all that is feminine or female. Each chapter captures another emotion, another flaw of the human soul. The life of this nameless man has been difficult, filled with depression and totally unbalanced. Meeting each of these healers he hopes to find someone that can turn his life around, find a healthy solution and create some semblance to reconstruct him into a healthy living human being.
Look in the mirror and what do you see: You! Your image and nothing more. The imperfections that are within you and your flaws are not readily seen unless you speak, interact with others and allow them to know the real you. You think you are perfect just by looking at your outward appearance that others think is impeccable but hidden underneath are the lies, deceits, shadows and fears that follow you wherever you go. It’s how we deal or handle them that create our own pattern in life, pitfalls and seeking our own path to self-realization or who we really are.
Oana, in The Healings introduces one man: Nameless who can be the embodiment of anyone. Let’s say he represents every one of us in some way. As he begins his journey, along one with his Black Cat: Her to try and find himself, his inner being: he will encounter over 40 different healers and meet with each one hoping to find the answers within their different philosophies and experiences that are shared. Humorous, satirical and quite unique each of these short stories or chapters will enlighten the reader to the real problem faced by our nameless man.
Every journey has a beginning at does this one as he meets with a Shaman first. Evengi Heavy Feather is really where it all begins and probably should have ended as he truly says it all in one simple phrase: Sometimes we carry a heavy burden with us: Sometimes what causes things to weigh more or prey heavily on our minds cannot always be dealt with or expressed until we decide to do something different and change our own pattern to lighten that burden or in this case the weight of a feather. Not facing the problem often increases its weight.
What about becoming a Dream Master and able to create beautiful dreams for everyone to avoid those dreaded nightmares which prey in our subconscious, ruin a good night’s sleep and are also often part of something deeper that is bothering us and we just don’t know it or refuse to face it. This journey or healing was quite funny and the end result reminds you of the inside of a dirt devil or vacuum cleaner bad and armed with his Dream Toolkit are main character feels ready and able to rid the world of bad dreams and nightmares. Instead, he faces more demons and harsh realities. Controlling your life and taking control of your anger and fears might help the need for more journeys. He still needs to define what he has to change before he can more forward without the need of all of these healings to eliminate his depression, anger and much more.
Sarcastic and despising those who are hoping or hot filled with the same despair or depression he forges ahead in search of more healers as he meet Chamoile the storyteller who can create characters to go along with his controlled plots. Allowing the listener to become the central character or focal point of the story enables him/her to fell accepted and understood. Can someone feel this way just listening to the words of others? As he leads him to a place called The Crossroads you realize all he is doing is trying to get him to choose the correct path as he decides which way to go or the crossroads of his life; good, bad or stays the same. Missed opportunities: Cannot relive them.
He meets numerous healers along the way but one incident that stands out is when he states he is going to work in a psychiatric ward and observe the behaviors of the patients and the doctors helping administer pills along the way. What he really learns is that even those working there and the healers he previously meets have issues and sometimes need to face them with help from others too which angers him even more.
Every healer that our main character meets imparts an important lesson to this man who refuses to realize that his problems stem from not facing what they are and blaming his shortcomings and failures on those trying to help him. All the while like a good wife or nurturing mother, his cat Her, keeps him centered, brings reality into focus, performs the duties of a good wife or mother and hopes he finds his own path to self-awareness and realization. Sharing each of his plans with his cat, yet wanting to embark on each journey alone, you can feel the frustration of this cat as she tries to guide him before he falls down. Each healing brings the same result: He feels cheated, lied to and the experiences because they do not come out exactly as he envisioned they would, create him more turmoil within this man and do not meet his expectations.
Too many choices, options, freedom of choice: All too often like kids, adults need some parameters and guidelines when things get tough in order to continue on. From the Master Painter to Master Whiteout our nameless man hopes to find immediate answers to his unfilled life: Can he learn how to use the right words or paint a masterpiece on the spot creating his own form of expression? You decide what lessons if any he learns as your continue the journey along with the reader and I continue my review of The Healings by this creative and outstanding author.
From thinking that he is filthy rich from his cat picking the winning lottery ticket to a rude awakening that money cannot buy you the peace and harmony you need or want, to more interviews and jobs that will make you smile, laugh and wonder Oana sets the bar when creating everyday events that go awry. Each time our main character feels the pressure he and his trusty cat either pack up and go somewhere else, find another venue to vent in or another way for both of them to escape their true realities: loneliness, confusion and dissatisfaction with their plight as they journey to many more places, meet many more people and eventually realize the end result. Added to the mix is Aunt Lyla who provides another take on his plight, encourages his fantasies and goes along with many of his dreamlike experiences reeling him in even more. The character’s he meets and their names alone will make you smile and the rationale he uses to explain each of his encounters, his excuses for his failures and successes are no different than ours today as this nameless man and his faithful cat Her continue on to many real and imaginary places to find Knowledge, inner peace and who they both are.
From Cousin Jello’s funeral to Tito Sponge a great mind to Professor Turtle ad great mind in anthropology our nameless man turns to every profession in life and more to find his way back to where he might have started from had he paid attention. I think the funniest is Dr. Iceberg who is supposed to help those in need of increasing their sex drive and tells our main character to discuss this with his significant other. Would that be the cat? Or someone else? The author closes with healing sessions in friendship, beauty, pain, bad relationships and much more that you need to read for yourself. Finally, the last healing is in the tower. Going from room to room and floor to floor allows him to relive areas of his life, healings that were described before, events that have already taken place and remembering the good and the feather and weight is now lighter and the burden and heaviness lifted. To learn more about his healing in the Tower and the others and whether he finds his true inner peace and more you need to read this mind stimulating and thought provoking account of one man’s journey to find himself. Humor reigns, philosophical discussions often interrupted with events that will make you laugh this is one book that will give the reader much pause for thought and great topics for book club discussions as each healing or chapter brings to light many issues we all face today.
Fran Lewis: reviewer
January 8, 2011
It is six o'clock in the morning and I am framing my review of The Healings.I wonder how it was created. Could this apparent whole have been written backwards, or in juxtaposition with a labyrinthine puzzle in an Eastern European maze Could the stories be interchanged?In The Healings, I recognize the searchings of lost Americans for truth among the milkman or in garbage heaps or in the inaudible musical chambers of the charlatans and wordmeisters. I become breathless when I soon discover I am in the hands of such a gifted master. In The Healings, Oana does nothing but reveal in sometimes whimsical, almost flirtatious irony, nothing less than the narrator's vulnerable soul. Her narrator, who sometimes seems too sensitive to be male in the scratch your belly world by the T.V. tube, does not want to reveal himself yet is often called to be in the spotlight of some inner truth. That truth, despite the revelation, must be brought to light, held up for surgical inspection, much like The healings that occur with knives in the hysterical Balkan wedding. With irony, much more serious in intent than most Americans can comfortably find humorous, Oana is able to awaken in the chambers of the immortals: it is no exaggeration to think about Harry Haller in the Magic Theater in Herman Hesse's Der Steppenwolf, or Mikhail Bulgakov in The Master and Margarita. Ms. Niculae has suffered to write The Healings. What makes her attempt so absolutely astounding is that, past the pain and suffering her narrator must endure to find harmony,transcendence occurs each and every line that has been written. Only humor keeps the narrator alive. Depression can be dissolved in the condensation of the evaporated heights where the grandmasters sit: Hesse's immortals--Mozart, Goethe- we think of the art of Picasso-Oana must transcend her sufferings, never with rancor, but with a reverential call toward acquiscense.Even in the ultimate folly of searching for truth.
It is not Depression that this narrator suffers from. It is far worse, and more reminiscent of Loren Kierkegaard. Forgive my Latin but it is something like..."diapsalmata ad se ipsum," Melancholia brought on by world weariness. This is the disease of mankind. Oana is a modern day existentialist and here introspection are so important to help us understand the way to truth. Introspection has been a lost art. In a world of extra-punitive and bellicose chatter, The Healings is a revolutionary thought pattern that, in the quest itself, one can find the meaning of individual suffering. Rising free from the awareness, not only of the hypocrisies of the so-called healers, but even the validity of the search, ultimately brings the narrator, and his cat, to ultimate transcendence in the awareness of the importance of the quest. Some spirit moved the author to hold up irony as a transparent jewel. This book left me breathless. Her cat can now join the Behomoth of Bulgakov and sit arched in triumph on Cat's Paw ridge in Canyon D'Chelly. I've even had a fantasy of driving with the author and her cat there,and in an anthropomorphic, even bestial menage, we could fall in love until the dust crumbles...or until we crumble to dust..But Oana has already held that Healing up to the light of truth and has found it wanting. Her truths, and her nuanced curtsies from irony to acceptance are like a minuet of erotic parody and one is able to even be seduced by the folly of the dance. Hearts are revealed by this master writer. Truths are tempered with wisdom and forbearance. A unique, highly original work that is yet reminiscent of great masters, The Healings is a must read.
It is not Depression that this narrator suffers from. It is far worse, and more reminiscent of Loren Kierkegaard. Forgive my Latin but it is something like..."diapsalmata ad se ipsum," Melancholia brought on by world weariness. This is the disease of mankind. Oana is a modern day existentialist and here introspection are so important to help us understand the way to truth. Introspection has been a lost art. In a world of extra-punitive and bellicose chatter, The Healings is a revolutionary thought pattern that, in the quest itself, one can find the meaning of individual suffering. Rising free from the awareness, not only of the hypocrisies of the so-called healers, but even the validity of the search, ultimately brings the narrator, and his cat, to ultimate transcendence in the awareness of the importance of the quest. Some spirit moved the author to hold up irony as a transparent jewel. This book left me breathless. Her cat can now join the Behomoth of Bulgakov and sit arched in triumph on Cat's Paw ridge in Canyon D'Chelly. I've even had a fantasy of driving with the author and her cat there,and in an anthropomorphic, even bestial menage, we could fall in love until the dust crumbles...or until we crumble to dust..But Oana has already held that Healing up to the light of truth and has found it wanting. Her truths, and her nuanced curtsies from irony to acceptance are like a minuet of erotic parody and one is able to even be seduced by the folly of the dance. Hearts are revealed by this master writer. Truths are tempered with wisdom and forbearance. A unique, highly original work that is yet reminiscent of great masters, The Healings is a must read.
April 18, 2011
I have quite a mixed feelings on this book, at first. I thought it was a non-fiction, more like a motivation book that I rarely read. Look at the title; The Healing could have so many other synonyms of to get better for some kind of disease or sickness. And I never thought that it serves more than that. At first, I'm having a hard time to analyse and understand the story but it would get to your sense eventually. The more I read the more I want to know what is actually all about, the more I was hoping to know and wonder how it's going to end. The author introduced us with a nameless guy, which I think it actually would be anyone, or myself. He went for many shamans and healers, hoping that his whatever problems of life could be solved and go away. I think he actually felt cheated when there's no absolute solution and choices that would ease him from the tension he has. This brought him back to his cat, where he felt more centred, focused and he never to lonely to tell anything to his cat when his cat do nothing or even say anything. He can be open to his cat, or actually we can be open to ourself when we take the time to point out what actually is wrong with our inner self. Sounds funny and crazy but somehow he's healing. The author really knows her character, her book, and how to make the reader understand how to open up ourself instead we search for stranger's help in the first place. The writing is good, with a lot of humour, a little bit sarcasm, funny, and well-developed. I fall in love with this book. It may not have the best plot line, but the story made me feels something to heal myself from daily basis of work, school and my relationships. It's very easy to relate to. The book deserves the best attention from all of us and I personally think it's quit a silent healer itself. It makes us discover our personalities and self-awareness. Fully recommended!
December 29, 2010
A funny look at the "healing" profession. Oana has a keen eye for finding the absurd and making the readers laugh. Here you have the odd couple, except Oscar or maybe it’s Felix is a cat instead of a person. Together the narrator and the cat go on a journey with soothsayers, dust bunnies and every oddball healer you can imagine. The cat is everywhere with witticisms even when she’s hiding in the closet and is embarrassed by the extreme measures her significant other takes to get healthy from a blue to a green pill to trying on jobs like a pair of shoes that entails joining the small people’s society where the plan is to take a good person down and which doesn’t quite work as planned. And there are lottery winnings with some more vulgar tongue and cheek exploration including exotic travels and dining with cannibals. It’s one hilarious ride after the next.
August 27, 2016
An entertaining tale of a man searching for clarity and awareness when life had beaten him down. With the help of his cat they seek out healers to help them along the way. Each chapter a new, humorous yet self-introspective adventure written in a unique narrative voice. Recommended.
A few of my favorite passages:
"Any encounter with a pure-bred idiot should be cherished accordingly, for unlike him, we are merely mutts."
"While my infirmities are not visible, I was born old and brainless."
"Aren't we all anonymous owners of a greater collective experience"
"Taking the Past with me would only make me weaker."
A few of my favorite passages:
"Any encounter with a pure-bred idiot should be cherished accordingly, for unlike him, we are merely mutts."
"While my infirmities are not visible, I was born old and brainless."
"Aren't we all anonymous owners of a greater collective experience"
"Taking the Past with me would only make me weaker."
June 13, 2011
this is a wildly imaginative book, fun and smart and more fun.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews