The Untrapped Butterfly: Reflections on life and photo memories

This short book, The Untrapped Butterfly, contains a small collection of the author's reflective and poetic writing on life, together with photos with meaning. It demonstrates, by example, a way in which aspects of our lives and learning can be represented in a creative book without revealing the full story. When the book is shared with others, it may lead to different life stories being told by the author each time and may inspire the listener or reader's own life story writing projects. It conveys some of the author's own personal learning and insight by the sharing of the selected reflective writing, no doubt influenced by her coaching and wellbeing background.

The Untrapped Butterfly is also the name of a poem within the book that emerged whilst journaling. The book itself arose from a clearing and decluttering process when it was decided that an earlier poem from several years ago, The Trapped Butterfly, was no longer needed. It was torn up and it felt like the two poems, along with the decluttering, had contributed to a healing process - demonstrating the powerful benefits of journaling and creativity in dealing with life's challenges.

The book also represents a way of performing art for the non-artist. Creating the book was both a therapeutic process and a joyful artistic one. It is hoped that others may be inspired to use creativity themselves in relation to their own unique life stories, whether just for themselves as part of personal development, or as a way to share their memories and life learning with family and friends.