About
Val is the author of The Art of Comforting: What to Say and Do for People in Distress (Penguin/Random House, 2010) which won the Nautilus Gold Book Award in 2011. Her second book, 400 Friends and No One to Call: Breaking Through Isolation and Building Community, was released with Central Recovery Press in 2020.
Her latest book, Healing Through Wonder: How Awe Restores Us After Trauma and Loss will be released in January 2026 with Bloomsbury Publishing.
A contributing blogger for Psychology Today and the Health Story Collaborative, Val's topics include comforting people in distress, breaking through isolation, building community, and sharing our sense of wonder with others. Val received her MS in rehabilitation counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a rehabilitation consultant, speaker and educator. She has been quoted in the New York Times, Next Avenue, Parade, Men's Health, and Rewire, and her articles and Q&As have appeared in AARP, Caregiver Space, Babyboomer.com, Caregiver Solutions, Time, Good Housekeeping, Coping with Cancer, Boston Globe, and Marie Claire.
Val lives in Boston, MA, and enjoys inspiring seniors through her highly interactive “Words Galore” classes at Council on Aging centers throughout Massachusetts.
Keep up with Val at www.valwalkerauthor.com
Featured Work
Healing Through Wonder: How Awe Restores Us After Trauma and Loss
Profiling survivors of trauma and loss, we learn how our sense of wonder is a source of resilience and connection. This inspiring guide shares healing stories sparked by wondrous experiences and unpacks the neuroscience that explains how wonder helps our brains and bodies heal.
Other Works
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4oo Friends and No One to Call: Breaking Through Isolation and Building Community
March, 2020 with Central Recovery Press
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The Art of Comforting: What to Say and Do for People in Distress
2010
Awards and Recognition
- Nautilus Book Award Gold Medalist, Grief and Loss Category, 2011
- Coalition of Visionary Resources Book Award, First Runner Up, Self-help Category, 2011
- Recommended by the Boston Public Health Commission in their Guide for Survivors of the Boston Marathon Bombing
Press and Media Mentions
- Penguin/Random House Recommended Books List---There's a Book for That: Hope, Healing, and Doing Good
- Blog post for Psychology Today: Are You Judgmental of Lonely People? A Self-test
- Interviewed as guest on the Jefferson Exchange (NPR-affiliated Jefferson Public Radio) about my new book, 400 Friends and No One to Call. Podcast about breaking through isolation and building community.
- TV interview with Global TV Canada, The Morning Show, about the stigma of loneliness and the impact of COVID-19 on social isolation
