I bought this version of Blum's Rune book (written with Susan Loughan) after owning the first "Book of Runes" for a few years. I now use both in my life. I pick up "The Healing Runes" when I have a particular situation in my life which needs healing. The book takes the same attitude toward runes and the quest of the spiritual warrior. The difference lies in the interpretation of the individual runes.For example, the rune shaped like an "X" is the rune of "trust" in the "Healing" book. In the original book it is "partnership". The healing book asks you to examine trust in your life and what you can heal around that issue.I find these runes very useful and enjoy the "recovery" language used by Mr. Blum and Ms. Loughan. There are so many people who are putting their lives back together -- runes can only aid them in the spiritual quest. I have used runes for about 6 years now and always get so much out of them.