How surreal. My book is now available on amazon to buy!
Hare and Tortoise Have Counselling
A winning approach to counselling realised through a classic fable.
Maria 慧 Claridge’s inspiring first book, Hare and Tortoise Have Counselling published in this year, is welcome news for readers interested in counselling, self-help, education, wellness and psychology.
As the title suggests, Maria Claridge’s delightful debut is based on the much-loved characters found in the classic Aesop Fable, The Tortoise and the Hare. For those unfamiliar with this moral tale, a boastful hare and a reserved ingenious tortoise race each other. On the surface, their race is an unequal one, owing to the hare’s notable speed and the tortoise’s slow-paced reputation. However, during the race, the hare decides to take a nap, allowing the tortoise to overtake him and ultimately win the race.
Claridge projects a unique version of a beloved fable by brilliantly breaking down the counselling methods behind the two main characters. With a personal insight of counselling gained from her training, the author intelligently analyses how the result of the race, and the impact of winning and losing, conversely affect the hare and the tortoise. What happens to the hare after losing? How does the tortoise handle his new-found fame after winning?
The book explores the characters’ journeys, charting their ups and downs through the prism of counselling. With a bold approach, the author follows the characters’ journey after the race has finished and discovers what it means to win when victory is unexpected: “Tortoise returned the smiles, stunned himself at his unexpected victory. But, despite winning the race, Tortoise did not himself feel the enthusiasm of the crowd. He felt no joy. Instead, his stomach felt in a knot.”
Hare and Tortoise Have Counselling successfully explores how deep-rooted issues can be understood and healed through correct counselling: “One’s personality can be firmly rooted in your childhood experience. To truly address your issues, we must dig deep into your unconscious. This is where we store our unspoken values, the beliefs we do not even realise we have and the patterns of thought and behaviour developed in childhood.”
Talking through her characters, the author brilliantly projects different approaches to counselling, benefitting readers and clearing up the confusion surrounding the varying methods that exist today. The author dedicates her book to readers curious to learn more about the different types of counselling available, educating readers on recommended therapies while touching on deeper issues, including: depression, relationships and anxiety.
Using a popular and well-known moral story, Claridge’s Hare and Tortoise Have Counselling is a practical and unique piece of fiction that provides a novel understanding on the benefits of best counselling practice. This is a superbly subjective book with a novel twist on a timeless classic that provides answers and practical solutions while provoking questioning minds.
Hare and Tortoise Have Counselling by Maria is now available on Amazon.uk and Amazon.com
Paperback edition: £6.50/$7.97
ISBN-13: 979-8633910919
ASIN: B086PPCK5R
About the Author
Maria is half-English and half-Japanese and was born in Lymington, England. She wrote this book whilst studying to become a counsellor, with the intention of helping people understand the different types of counselling and what techniques are used. Her interest stemmed from always wondering what happened to the Hare and the Tortoise after the race. Wanting to explore topics such as depression and anxiety, that she herself has experienced first-hand, she felt she could talk about these important issues through the characters.
Maria also enjoys working as a yoga teacher, teaching Japanese and as a personal trainer/class instructor