The Garden Within: Where the War with Your Emotions Ends and Your Most Powerful Life Begins

Phillips uses metaphor as a central literary device to illustrate the interconnectedness of faith and mental health through emotional authenticity. Her primary metaphor—the internal garden—frames the human experience as an ecosystem that requires nurturing, balance, and attention. Through this extended metaphor, she conveys complex psychological and theological concepts in an accessible and visually resonant way, allowing readers to understand emotional well-being as a dynamic and ongoing process rather than a simple state of mind.

One of the most foundational aspects of this metaphor is the comparison of the heart to soil. Just as different types of soil affect plant growth, the condition of the heart influences mental and emotional well-being. Phillips’s use of metaphor transforms abstract theological and psychological concepts into tangible, relatable imagery. Her garden framework allows readers to understand mental health as a holistic, faith-integrated process in which tending to one’s emotions is not an act of weakness but an essential practice of self-care and spiritual growth.

Another literary device that Phillips uses throughout her work is analogy. This helps her make complex psychological concepts more accessible. While her garden metaphor supports the overarching framework of her argument, she frequently uses analogies within this framework to explain how emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being function together.