Grief Science

Losing my mother to a degenerative brain disease was a slow and agonising journey that taught me the depths of sorrow. Later, grieving my father, Captain Sir Tom, a beacon of hope during the 2020 pandemic, brought unique challenges. Balancing the world’s gratitude for his legacy with my private grief shaped the insights shared in these pages.

Mesmerized, at times unnerved, by his 97-year-old father's nearly superhuman vitality and optimism, David Shields undertakes an investigation of the human physical condition. The result is this exhilarating book - both a personal meditation on mortality and an exploration of flesh-and-blood existence from crib to oblivion. It's an exploration that paradoxically prompts a renewed and profound appreciation of life.

Jason King has lost the ship that carried his dreams, and the woman who gave him hope. Haunted by grief and the weigh of his past, Jason returns to an Earth still under the iron grip of the United Earth Government. But home is no longer home, and neither is he the man who once fled it. What begins as a journey of quiet return soon becomes a final reckoning. Old enemies stir. New alliances shift. And Jason must decide whether to walk away from the fight, or stand once more in defense of what remains. But redemption comes with a cost and some sacrifices echo across the stars. Equinox: The ...

There’s a quiet revolution happening in the way we die. More than 1.5 million Americans a year die in hospice care - nearly 44 percent of all deaths - and a vast industry has sprung up to meet the growing demand. Once viewed as a New Age indulgence, hospice is now a $14 billion business and one of the most successful segments in health care. Changing the Way We Die, by award-winning journalists Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel, is the first book to take a broad, penetrating look at the hospice landscape.

Vanessa's husband, Paul, dies suddenly and tragically on their regular Sunday morning swim. How will she cope with her dilapidated house, her teenage children, the patients who depend on her? Will therapy help? Why do mysterious white feathers start appearing in unexpected places? Beautifully written and honestly relayed, Vanessa uses her professional skills to explore the many questions posed by unanticipated death and to try to find a way forwards.

A stunning blend of the personal and professional, The Archaeology of Loss is Sarah Tarlow’s first memoir. An accomplished archaeologist, much of Sarah’s work is concerned with the ritual and belief behind the practice of grief. In 2012, she was awarded the Chair in Archaeology at the University of Leicester. But in the years that followed this appointment, Sarah’s husband, Mark, would begin to suffer from a progressive but undiagnosed illness, finally resulting in his inability to drive, to walk, to taste or to care for himself.

Have you ever felt as if you couldn't go on? That you were nearly lost under the weight of your own burdens? Were you told - or did you decide - that the only way out was to soldier on, to blindly grind out the days until you felt like you could breathe again, if not as well as before? What if there was another way?That's the option that Jerry is presented with by his best friend, Robert, along with an incredible tale of the man who came to Robert in his own time of need; the man who calls himself Mister Grief; the man who has a tale of his own to tell.

The Change and Odens stand on the verge of executing the most ambitious heist ever attempted within the human sector of the galaxy. Their formidable fusion of technology holds the power to shift the trajectories of hundreds of thousands of worlds, bending them to their will. As 3rd Level Marcus struggles to unravel the intricacies of this grand scheme, he must either decide to remain loyal to the Spire, the faction he once called home, or forge an uneasy alliance with the formidable adversaries known as the Sky Warriors. Complications mount when an enigmatic Oden Oiem ring plummets from the...

Evelyn Amdur, a hospice social worker, began to write these stories midway through her career, collaborating with her daughter, Shelley. Many traditional cultures have a custom of "death songs", which rest on the idea that at one's last moment, one somehow sums up the essence of one's life in a phrase or a song. Woven into these stories are instructions on how to die well, not only in what spirit we face death itself, but also through instructions on what is necessary to prepare our families, to ready our estates, and to manage all the players who may be involved in our deaths.

Locked deep in the castle's dungeon, Yelena knows she’ll never be free again. The laws in Ixia are strict, and murderers must be executed, no matter the reason. But just as she’s resigned to her fate, she’s offered an extraordinary reprieve – to be the food taster for the Commander of Ixia. As the food taster, Yelena will eat the best meals, have a room in the castle, and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander.

Left all alone after her mother passes away, 12-year-old Louisa LaRoche watches the sky for her father. Long ago, a powerful gust of wind swept through town, stealing him away on the wings of his untamed magic - the same magic that stirs within Louisa. As if she is made of hollow bones and too much air, her feet never quite touch the ground. But for all her sky gazing, Louisa finds her fortune on the leaf-strewn street when she spots a gleaming black-and-gold invitation - a ticket to the Carnival Beneath the Stars.

Death and the treatment of the dead body loom large in our collective cultural consciousness. The authors explore the materiality and meaning of the dead body and the living's relationship to it. All the biggest questions facing the planetary human community relate in one way or another to the corpse. Surprisingly, Christian communities are largely missing in the discussion of the dead, having abdicated the historic role in care for the dead to the funeral industry.

When Robert Ryder loses his best friends all in one cruel twist of fate, including the love of his life, it seems almost too good to be true when he finds a book of shadows with a spell to resurrect the dead. When the spell works, the returned want more than just a second chance at life. Their emotions and needs are intensified, the strongest being their desire for revenge. And why are there shadows moving within their eyes? Are they still his friends? Or did something come back in their place? And there are other things seeking to cross over, entities becoming stronger with every use of ...

Max's life has been shattered since the tragic loss of his wife and newborn during childbirth. Haunted by grief and living in a hollow world, his existence feels like a never-ending echo of pain. But everything changes one fateful night at a dimly lit bar when Max encounters a mysterious figure who looks exactly like him—only this other self is vibrant, joyful, and full of life. Desperate to reclaim his lost happiness, Max embarks on a journey to understand who this doppelgänger is and how he can reclaim the life he once had. Night Portals is a metaphysical series that explores the ...

After a near fatal stroke in 1995, Robert McCrum has gained an intimate understanding of his own mortality. Twenty-two years on, his friends have joined him in experiencing Prospero's 'every third thought' of death as a dominating theme of life. McCrum asks: can we make peace with what Freud calls 'the necessity of dying'? Searching for answers leads him to brain surgeons, psychologists, cancer patients and writers for advice and wisdom.

It's time to invite death out of the closet! The impending or actual death of someone close to you can be devastating. It doesn't matter if you knew it was coming, or if it was a total shock-you'll never be the same. There is no right way to grieve, and no appropriate time frame. It's different for everyone. Author and therapist gone rogue, Becky Aud-Jennison, the creator of The Death Dialogues Project and podcast, has sewn together threads from people's shared personal stories and her own experiences.

A difficult subject, but one that touches many. The loss of a pregnancy or infant is heart breaking and confusing. Knowing that you're not alone can help a bit. Have you or someone you know experienced an infant or pregnancy loss? You are not alone. Always Within: Grieving the Loss of Your Infant is like having a caring and compassionate support group at your fingertips. It's a compilation of stories from people who have had to endure such a loss.

When he became an undertaker, Rupert Callender undertook to deal with the dead for the sake of the living. This book is his brilliant, unforgettable story—the life and work of the world’s first punk undertaker—but it's also about ordinary, everyday humanity and our capacity to face death with courage and compassion, to say goodbye to the people we love in our own way.

Coping with the death of a loved one may feel like an overwhelming and never-ending journey. Your loved one is no longer with you, and you must learn to live without them. However, they will always be in your mind and heart.

The loss of a child is the most devastating event a parent can face. Sharing her experience about the loss of a desperately loved daughter, and the effects that go beyond what people could ever imagine, Liza Jankowski explores her deepest thoughts and feelings surrounding stillbirth in this moving memoir. As she discusses the impact on her relationships, her subsequent pregnancy and what she ultimately learned, "Changed" weaves a powerful combination of a mother's personal journey with helpful information to offer comfort, hope and understanding.