A Journey of Adventure and Travel in Margaret Clarke’s Healing Song
Margaret Clarke’s Healing Song begins with Roberta, a woman in her mid-thirties fleeing from her children and her husband in a small town in Canada because she feels she has reached a plateau in her life. Her husband, Ray, has noticed several signs of depression and suggests that she seek psychological help. He cannot understand why she leaves him, as he thinks he is a good provider for her and her family. But Roberta follows her instincts and embarks on a journey of adventures and travels that take her away from being suffocated from her and escape from her to a rented hotel room. While she is there, she contemplates her next step: connecting with her soul. Actually, one could call this journey your entry level into the Rites of Passage that address psychological needs such as safety, belonging, interaction with children, and self-realization (finding your soul and uniting your old and new selves).
According to Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life by Gail Sheehy, the most common age for a woman to run away from home is thirty-five (Sheehy 264). Being alone gives her the time and space to let go of her demanding roles. For the first time in her adult life, she is not placed in the context of work, family, and the husband-wife relationship. Roberta’s “soul care” doesn’t mean wallowing in the symptom [of depression,] but it does mean trying to learn from [the symptoms of] depression what qualities does the soul need” (Moore 79) and she begins to accomplish this goal.
However, her real adventures begin while working at “The Food Bar”, where she meets Nora, an Indian cook with whom she befriends. As she interacts with her new coworkers, she consciously disconnects the past from the present. At the same time, the thought of abandoning her children and her loving husband continues to haunt her.
Their growing friendship helps Roberta rekindle the notion of giving. Nora’s physical characteristics: her black hair and eyes represent nature and mother earth. Roberta feels safe in Nora’s warm, intimate, motherly presence, and Nora identifies with Roberta and encourages her to heal her personal wounds. Later, while sitting in her bedroom at Nora’s house, she privately confesses her love for Nora and writes in her diary, “This morning I will think about: Why I left them, last night’s dream, and why I love Nora.” (HS58).
While staying at Nora’s house, time seems to stand still and Roberta welcomes her new rhythm of life. She develops a keen sense from the simple act of drinking tea to looking at Nora’s furniture. She also watches people talking and their body language. This excessive attention to detail encourages her to pause. “A common symptom of modern life is that there is no time to think, or even to let one day’s impression sink in. Yet only when the world enters the heart can it become soul” (Moore 286).
When Roberta finally comes home to her husband Ray and their children, she gradually “letes loose” by allowing her children to become individuals, different from her. With her new growth discovered from her, Roberta hopes that Ray will respect her need for privacy. By internalizing these needs, she can heal the existing wounds in her marriage by sharing her trust and love to bridge the dichotomy of distinct male and female emotions and needs that are not verbalized to each other.
As the very title of the novel suggests, the healing process represents the balance between discovering an authentic soul in relationships with friends, children, and husband, and, more importantly, with oneself. Roberta’s feat of discovering her true soul on her own without her family is the challenge this novel addresses, namely the need to unify thoughts and feelings when unforeseen changes suddenly overtake Roberta’s unstable course of life and she reaches her goal. “Rite-to-be”.
Works Cited
Clarke, Margaret. Healing song. Newest Publishers Limited: Canada, 1988.
Moore, Thomas. Soul Care: A Guide to Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life. New York: Harper-Collins Publishers, 1992.
Wow, Gail. Passages: predictable crises of adult life. New York: EP Dutton, 1974.