Illness and the Art of Creative Self-Expression

Winner of the 2025 Digitally Lit Youth Choice Book Award for Community and Place.

What if creativity could be your most powerful medicine? In this inspiring and deeply practical book, physician, scientist, and arts-health pioneer John Graham-Pole invites readers to rediscover the healing power of imagination, play, and artmaking in times of illness and transition. Drawing on four decades of experience in pediatric oncology, palliative care, and arts in medicine, Graham-Pole offers engaging exercises and moving patient stories that show how creative self-expression can nourish the body, lift the spirit, and restore a sense of purpose. Featuring a foreword by Dr. Patch Adams and insights from global leaders in arts and health, this updated second edition explores how —regardless of age, skill, or diagnosis—creativity is essential to health and healing

NEW: Illness and the Art of Creative Self-Expression is now available as an epub. Find it on Kobo or Kindle or most any of your preferred online book retailers today.