Story telling and poetry are two of the most effective methods that Ted uses in his teaching and counseling. See below for details about books that Ted has written.
United States residents, a printable order form (PDF) is available for all books
Musings of a Meandering Poet
“This book brings the reader on a journey of reflection and wisdom gained across a lifetime of living through life’s ups and downs. Love, laughter, and loss are treated in equal measure with honesty and realism.” — Brid Carrol, Bereavement Psychotherapist and Educator, Ireland
“This is a powerful and tender collection, vibrant with imagery, story and heart song of the continuing bonds of a deep and enduring love. A poetic companion for the fellow traveler on the path of reminiscence, it is also a primer for re-establishing connection to one’s changing self.” — Nancy Scherlong, clinical social worker, poetry and journal therapist, certified grief educator
“Layered with both the serious and the whimsical, these poems touch on the duality of being and living within “both/and.” Ted takes us along his personal journey of grief and articulates well the visceral truth and ambiguity of loss. This book makes the heart swell.” — Jim Heymans, MSW, LICSW, bereavement and grief counselor
Ted’s book is shaped by decades of experience as a teacher, grief counselor, and observer of the human journey. Whether reflecting on childhood, community, or grief, Ted invites readers to walk alongside him through life’s meanderings.” — Melissa Lundquist, BSW program director and associate professor School of Social Work, University of St. Thomas
“From the vantage point of age, the author shares episodes from a life lived with curiosity and love. Grief in bereavement can be lonely, painful, or tangled in social forms, but surprisingly, it may also sometimes be welcomed. Reading this collection, you feel you are traveling with an experienced and reassuring companion, receiving abundant gifts along the way.” — Fiona Hamilton, head of program, Creative Writing for Therapeutic Purposes, Metanoia Institute, London
Ambiguous Parables: Poems and Prose of Loss and Renewal
The collected prose and poetic pages herein are the voice of a man seeking greater comfort with ambiguity. What seems to be is not always what is. A life-long quest has been to find words – the words of others through conversations, poetry, song lyrics, fiction, non-fiction, scriptures – and/or my own words – to acknowledge and address ambiguous experiences. To find, years ago, these lines in James Baldwin’ s Another Country, resonated and affirmed my quest. “…one is never what one seems — never — and yet, what one seems to be is probably, in some sense, almost exactly what one is”
What if you had another chance to get things right? What if you could return to a day you made an error, and do and say things deftly this time? What if you could meet again someone you have lost, and this time say the right thing, ask the right thing, listen and exchange and come to rest? Ted Bowman’s Crossroads gives you this chance. With a series of memorable and compact stories, and graceful invitations, the book offers a resonant visit to soul doctor, where old ailments caused by silence, anger, confusion, and un-said hope can be remedied. This is a book to read, to converse with, and to give to anyone hungry for healing. Ted Bowman is a minister, healer, and friend to us all. — Kim Stafford, author of The Muses Among Us: Eloquent Listening and Other Pleasures of the Writer’s Craft, from the Museletter, newsletter of the National Association for Poetry Therapy
Using poems and stories, Ted Bowman invites readers to explore life’s crossroads. Ted is well-known in Minnesota for his expertise in grief support. In this book he has broadened the scope to include stories about living, dying, youth, aging, work, marriage, divorce, disappointment, grief and hope — the whole gamut of life’s crossroads. The stories are short, many are Ted’s personal stories, and each is followed by space for the reader’s personal reflection. From the Foreword: “My story is important not because it is mine…but because if I tell it anything like right, the chances are you will recognize that in many ways it is also yours.” — Michele Fedderly, Executive Director Hospice Minnesota
Loss of Dreams: A Special Kind of Grief
This book seeks to have a written conversation with the reader, identifying kinds of loss, and embracing grief as part of the healing process.
Finding Hope When Dreams Have Shattered
Here are stories about how people have found hope in the face of tragedy and loss. I have added a commentary or reflection to many of them.
The Wind Blows, the Ice Breaks
Poems of Loss and Renewal by Minnesota Poets
edited by Ted Bowman and Elizabeth Bourque Johnson
This anthology contains a wide array of poems by Minnesota poets dealing with the experience of personal loss, grief, and recovery. Among the specific themes are divorce, the death of a child, the loss of innocence, giving up a child for adoption, and domestic violence. But although the focus is on loss and grief, the poems also carry moving descriptions of healing and the return of high spirits. It will appeal to those who have suffered loss and are experiencing grief, to those who are helping a loved one through dark times, and also to a wider audience of readers who simply appreciate good poetry.
You can read more about this book (PDF), and read a review by Geri Chavis (PDF)
It Starts With Hope
The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) is a global nongovernmental organization based in St. Paul, Minnesota, with locations around the world, including Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Uganda, and the United States. At CVT we extend multidisciplinary rehabilitative care to torture survivors every day. And we are inspired by the hope that torture survivors who come to our doors in search of healing share with us as they rebuild their lives. We see hope every day.
In honor of our 30th anniversary, CVT asked individuals to share with us what hope means to them. From around the world, people sent original photos, poems, essays, and messages of hope, which we published on Tumblr: https://itstartswithhope.tumblr.com/
We are very grateful to our many contributors for their beautiful work and their engaging spirit. We invite you to look through this collection and share a moment of hope.
Find out more about the book at: https://www.cvt.org/itstartswithhope
The Center for Victims of Torture, St. Paul, Minnesota
Ted Bowman 