Book excerpt: When her husband was diagnosed with a serious brain tumor, Marianne Tauber turned to art-painting and poetry-to cope with the situation. Years later, she explicates what was behind the drive to create, presenting seventeen paintings and poems alongside a narrative of the time of crisis in journal form and then delving into the concepts of Jungian psychology and alchemy to make sense of the images and their healing effect. "This is a gripping and powerful book, catalyzed by crisis and personal tragedy, but born of an imaginative and courageous spirit. Through her meditative discipline, painting, and poetry, Tauber looks unflinchingly into the darkest depths of her soul. Creatively developing an alchemical active imagination, she follows an arduous path, not only to psychological survival, but to redemption, greater wholeness, and wisdom. Replete with archetypal and symbolic amplifications, The Soul's Ministrations is a significant and scholarly contribution to Jungian literature and a valuable guide to anyone who must struggle with the tragic aspects of life or wishes to learn about the creative depths of the psyche." -Stanton Marlan, Ph.D., ABPP