The Literary Lifeline

Bibliotherapy and the Transforming Power of Reading

Kevin Harvey (University of Nottingham, UK)

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Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Bloomsbury
21 August 2025

Sociolinguistics; Literature, Poetry & Criticism; Literary studies: general

The Literary Lifeline is a tribute to the transporting and consoling power of reading. In this insightful and moving book, Kevin Harvey affirms the importance that language and literature can play in our lives, reminding us of reading’s enduring, and sometimes surprising, ability to help us through times of illness, grief, and uncertainty.

Interweaving fragments from his own experience of reading, Harvey takes us on a fascinating tour of reading for therapeutic effect, exploring the rise of shared reading and other uses of bibliotherapy in various social and personal contexts. He argues, through a series of compelling stories and life experiences, that reading not only benefits physical and emotional wellbeing, but that it also humanises the care process, particularly in institutional settings where personhood can be threatened or undermined completely.

Whether he’s writing about the drama and delight of reading aloud to other people, the humane magic of the public library, or the loss of his beloved brother and his improvised attempt to read through grief, Harvey offers us an engaging take on the solace of reading and the gift of the written word.

Entertaining, highly accessible, and teeming with illuminating observations and ideas, The Literary Lifeline is a book that will appeal to both scholars and general readers alike.

By: Kevin Harvey (University of Nottingham UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 16mm
Weight: 380g
ISBN: 9781472583604
ISBN 10: 1472583604
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 21 August 2025
Audience: College/higher education , General/trade , Further / Higher Education , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Preface Acknowledgements Note on the Text 1. The Reading Revolution: Shared Reading and Reading for Wellbeing 2. What Have Libraries Ever Done For Us? In Defence of the Public Library System 3. Reawakening the Mind: Poetry and the New Culture of Dementia Care 4. The Enduring Self: A Journal 5. The Doctor as Writer, the Writer as Doctor: A Conversation with Gavin Francis 6. ‘To Know This Song Before Dying’: Some Notes on Grief and Mourning Reading and dementia: Poems for reading aloud References Index

Kevin Harvey is Associate Professor at the School of English at the University of Nottingham, UK.

Reviews for The Literary Lifeline: Bibliotherapy and the Transforming Power of Reading

An eloquent, humane book that celebrates the power of literature to bring consolation and healing: words can be medicine for the soul. * Nicci Gerrard, journalist and author of What Dementia Tell Us About Love *