Grief Science

In the summer of 2000, David Hlavsa and his wife Lisa Holtby embarked on a pilgrimage. After trying for three years to conceive a child and suffering through the monthly cycle of hope and disappointment, they decided to walk the Camino de Santiago, a joint enterprise - and an act of faith - they hoped would strengthen their marriage and prepare them for parenthood.

Chief Ranger Henry Shore once fought the lethal infestation of prehistoric dinosaurs in his beloved Crater Lake National Park. The first monster, which he called Godzilla, then the flying nightmares, the Gargoyles, then the small evil dinosaurs, and finally One-Eye and its twin. With his wife, Ann, his rangers, and his friends he eliminated the blood-thirsty beasts not only in his park, but over time in many other places. From the beginning of the dinosaur wars he was befriended by a small, intelligent telepathic dinosaur he affectionately named Oscar. Oscar was a benevolent creature who ...

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.

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.

Death is a fact of life, but the experience of grief is unique to each of us. This timely collection brings together a range of voices to offer reflections on death and dying, from individual losses to large scale catastrophes. Karin Schimke revisits her troubled relationship with her late father, a Second World War survivor ‘whose brain had been broken by violence’. Madeleine Fullard, the head of South Africa’s Missing Persons Task Team, draws us into the search for activists who were ‘disappeared’ or went missing in political circumstances between 1960 and 1994.

A practical guide to navigating grief and everything that comes with loss. Jeff Brazier has experienced bereavement in many forms: in his childhood; helping his two boys through the devastating death of their mother, Jade Goody; witnessing the anguish of his own mum when she lost both of her parents; and hearing the stories of his coaching clients who are coming to terms with loss. No one can be an expert on grief, but within this book Jeff provides support and guidance from someone who has been there.

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 ...

Venture into the unknown and be captivated by a tale of resilience, adaptation, and familial strength with "Beyond the Cosmic Threshold" – an enthralling science fiction odyssey interwoven with the rich tapestry of family drama. Amidst the backdrop of the verdant and mysterious planet Eridani, a small human colony stands as a beacon of hope and new beginnings. However, for the Vale family, their interstellar relocation to escape the mundane existence of Earth unfurls into a profound journey of loss, challenge, and reinvention. When tragedy forcibly rips the patriarch from the Vale ...

The Ultimate Pre-Planning Handbook by Icarus Carpaccio is an empowering, compassionate guide for those wishing to secure their legacy and relieve their family of emotional and financial burdens. With step-by-step instructions and heartfelt guidance, this handbook simplifies the complex process of planning your funeral, offering comfort and clarity at every stage.

The first book in the brand-new series from New York Times best-selling author Julie Kagawa. Enter a beautiful and perilous land of shape-shifters and samurai, kami and legends, humans and demons...a world in which Japanese mythology and imagination blend together. When destiny calls, legends rise. Every millennium the missing pieces of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers are hunted, for they hold the power to call the great Kami Dragon from the sea and ask for any one wish.

When it comes to the end of a relationship, the loss of a loved one, or even a national tragedy, we are often told we need "closure." But while some people do find closure for their pain and grief, many more feel that closure does not exist and believe the notion only encourages false hopes. Sociologist Nancy Berns explores these ideas and their ramifications in her timely book, Closure.

Muitas pessoas que sofreram uma grande perda se sentem julgadas, ignoradas ou incompreendidas por uma cultura que tenta “resolver” o luto e “curar” uma dor que não pode ser remediada. Em Tudo bem não estar tudo bem, Megan nos convida a construir a melhor vida possível - uma vida que comporte a dor e a saudade, que não tente negar o vazio deixado pela perda. A partir dessa nova perspectiva, você vai aprender a dar pequenos passos para reconstruir seu mundo, respeitando seu tempo, ignorando conselhos ineficazes e honrando o amor daquele que se foi.

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die. In recent years non-religious funerals have become more common, but without an established canon of texts to fall back on, it can be difficult to plan an appropriate service for a loved one who had no religious belief or connections. Texts recommended by secular humanists, especially modern texts, can sometimes sound trite or overly informal.

There are plenty of self-help books for mourners, but nothing in the way of a modern, approachable and above all useful field guide for the living. And all of us - young, old, sick and well - could use the help. After all, pregnant couples have ample resources available to them as they prepare to bring a new life into the world: Lamaze courses, elaborate birth plans, tons of manuals. Why don't we have a What to Expect When You're Expecting to Die book?

Zoë Colville spent years in a fancy hair salon with a long list of clients, living on cigarettes, croissants, and a shoestring. It was everything she'd ever wanted. But when an unexpected and overwhelming loss caused her life to shift unexpectedly, she found herself on a different path. One where the only use for a hairdryer is warming new-born lambs; where the cycle of life on a farm gives new meaning on purpose, and where nature is both a strict teacher and a balm to soothe the pressures of everyday life.

After experiencing two rare heart attacks at the age of 33—and a third a decade later—Michele DeMarco knows trauma intimately. Trauma breaks your relationship with time by upending your expectations, fracturing your memories and identity, and destroying your innocence. With poignant wisdom and refreshing insight, DeMarco explodes traditional myths of resilience and shows what it takes to thrive through any of life's challenges.

The Widow's Survival Guide shows women that they are strong enough to survive and thrive in life after loss. Within The Widow's Survival Guide, Charity Pimentel-Hyams, a widow at 37 with children aged five, three, and one at the time of her husband’s tragic and unexpected death, takes women through the challenges and triumphs of young widowhood.

The remarkable story of how a mother moved from rage to hope after learning her youngest child was dying and harnessed her grief to transform the lives of others. Harnessing Grief will hearten listeners through Maria Kefalas' journey of understanding how to find hope and purpose amongst the most tragic of circumstances.

After her brother died unexpectedly and her mother moved into a dementia-care facility, spiritual travel writer and Episcopal deacon Lori Erickson felt called to a new quest: to face death head-on, with the eye of a tourist and the heart of a pastor. Blending memoir, spirituality, and travel, Near the Exit examines how cultures confront and have confronted death by investigating Egypt's Valley of the Kings, Mayan temples, Colorado cremation pyres, Day of the Dead celebrations, Maori settlements, and tourist-destination graveyards.

The sea has always called to Sofia, even when she and her mom lived in a big city nowhere near its shore. That's how Sofia always knew she was a mermaid--that, and the fact that the sea and its creatures are much easier to understand than people. Like her mother, who is sending Sofia away instead of her barracuda of a boyfriend; that's a flying fish if Sofia's ever seen one, spending so much time reaching for the sky she can't see what's going on below the surface. When Sofia meets her abuela, she knows she's up against a sea dragon.