Congratulations to Dr. AHyun Lee, whose book Selves In-Between: Offering Care and Forging Bonds with Difference was published by United Methodist General Board of Higher Education in July. You can order the book here.
Dr. Lee is Assistant Professor of Pastoral Care at Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University. She is an Elder in the United Methodist Church and has served in rural and urban churches, and cross-racial and cross-cultural ministries. She is also a Licensed Professional Counselor and has offered workshops on cross-cultural ministry.
What motivated you to write this book?
The motivation to write this book is from my commitment to pastoral care and counseling and listening empathically to people’s lived experiences. I hope this book becomes a resource that brings an intentional approach to pastoral care and counseling so that pastoral caregivers will not harm care-seekers.
What are the sources do you draw from?
This book is written from my clinical and pastoral experiences as a licensed psychotherapist, pastor, and scholar/teacher. This book is related to interdisciplinary methods with psychodynamic theories, critical and social-cultural studies, and trauma-informed care in transnational and multicultural counseling in global and postcolonial contexts.
What do you want the readers to take away from the book?
There is a unique gift in a caring relationship. When persons seek healing through understanding the complexity of their sufferings, they bring embodied stories in their lived experiences. I hope my readers engage with pastoral care relationships as an in-between space where two selves (a caregiver and a care seeker) interface and explore their relationships to self, others, and God in search of healing and transformation.
What sustains you during the pandemic? “Listening, being present, and letting it go.”
During this pandemic time, I intentionally practice "collective care" through:
Listening to my body,
Listening to my spirit,
Listening to my emotions,
Listening to my relationships (not only people but also any objects that take a part of my life, such as a laptop, a teapot, a photo frame, etc.),
Listening to nature and the world.