#healingfantasy

What happens after the villain loses… when you were one of the people forced to help them?

Pre-Reading Thoughts

Cosy fantasy about rebuilding a life after being magically compelled into villainy? I’m already intrigued. Oaklin’s attempt to escape magic entirely and start over on a quiet farm sounds like the perfect setup for a gentle healing story - with ghosts, animals, and possibly some reluctant rediscovery of magic along the way.

Post-Reading

As I thought… This is a deeply cosy, gentle read centered on healing, community, and second chances. Oaklin is a wonderfully sympathetic protagonist, trying to rebuild a life after trauma, and the villagers of Mossley’s Rest are almost aggressively supportive in the best way. The farm setting, magical mushrooms, and quiet companionship make this feel like settling into a warm, comforting world.

It surprised me by… …just how low the conflict level is. The story leans very heavily into kindness and recovery, with only brief hints of real danger. Normally I love gentle stories without much tension, but this might actually be the first time I’ve wondered if a book could have too little conflict for me! Even so, Oaklin’s emotional journey and the themes around responsibility versus blame are beautifully handled, and I’d happily return to this world for another installment.

(Also: I finished this book and immediately started a new farm in Stardew Valley. Interpret that however you like.)

Music Pairing

🎵 Featured Song: “Home” – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros 🎶 Vibe Album: folklore – Taylor Swift 🎧 Artist Recommendation: The Oh Hellos (gentle, warm storytelling energy)

Vibe Check

Colour Palette: Moss green, soft cream, mushroom brown Soundtrack: Gentle acoustic with a hint of magic Season: Early autumn harvest Mood: Healing, hopeful, quietly cosy Scent: Fresh earth, herbs drying in the kitchen, and woodsmoke

Tarot Pull

Six of Swords – A card of recovery, transition, and moving toward calmer waters. Oaklin’s story is less about defeating enemies and more about leaving trauma behind, slowly learning that healing - and even happiness - might still be possible.

For Fans Of

Book: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Healing Fantasy exercise:

Background: As children, we make sense of the world by putting together a story that explains our life to us. We imagine what would make us feel better and create what I call a healing fantasy—­a hopeful story about what will make us truly happy one day.  

I wish other people were more ________________ . Why is it so hard for people to ________________? For a change, I would love someone to treat me like ________________ . Maybe one of these days I’ll find someone who will ________________.  In an ideal world with good people, other people would ________________.

Role self exercise:

Background: If your parents or caregivers don’t adequately respond to your true self in childhood, you’ll figure out what you need to do to make a connection.  Instead of just being who you are, you’ll develop a role-­self, or pseudo-­self (Bowen 1978), that will give you a secure place in your family system. This role-self gradually replaces the spontaneous expression of the true self.

I try hard to be ________________. The main reason people like me is because I ________________ . Other people don’t appreciate how much I ________________ . I always have to be the one who ________________ . I’ve tried to be the kind of person who ________________. 

After completing the sentences, use the words and ideas from your responses to write two short descriptions, one for your healing fantasy and one for your role self. These descriptions will reveal your secret ideas about how other people should change in order to make you feel valued and how you think you must behave to be loved.