Old Turtle and the Broken Truth is a parable about reverence for the world. A truth, in the form of a shiny rock, falls to earth and breaks apart. The animals who find the truth recognize that it is not a whole truth so they leave it behind and search for a whole one. Then a human found the truth, which said, “You are loved.” He shared it with his people. They all cherished the truth. The people believed the truth and began to fear and hate those who did not share their truth. The people who did not possess the truth were jealous and began wars to gain the truth. One little girl comes to the Old Turtle to discover if the world can be saved. He tells her that although the truth is beautiful, it is also broken and incomplete. Old Turtle gave the girl a beautiful stone to take back to her people. He had saved it a very long time. When she returned home, the people did not recognize her and did not understand her message. She took the stone Old Turtle had given her and added it to the broken truth. The two were a perfect fit because together the message was, “You are loved and so are they.”

Old Turtle and the Broken Truth can be utilized to impart that partial truth or broken truth is not truth at all. Sometimes clients come to counseling because the truth they see is broken. They have looked at their own beautiful truth as if it were complete without recognizing the missing piece. They can only see a small part of the truth; missing the truth that is around them every day.

Through exploration of the truth and recognition that something is missing, clients can change their perspective on their world, incorporate the missing pieces of truth and develop a better understanding of their world. This book could be used with clients to prompt discussion about the truths they believe. It could also be used in counselor training to help developing counselors understand their role in the therapeutic relationship. Old Turtle waits until the people (the girl) are ready to hear the rest of the truth. Counselors must also wait until the client is ready.