Relationship Loss Grief

Experiencing Grief is inevitable in life because death is certain. Nobody can avoid it, and yet it seems that too many people hide from this fact, preferring to 'leave it till later'. The very word 'death' is whispered and most often dodged if possible, preferring words like 'lost', 'passed' or 'sleeping'. Grief can be a shock when death occurs, even if it has been previously experienced because grief is never the same.

Death is not for the faint of heart, and sometimes the best way to cope is through humor. No one knows this better than comedian Laurie Kilmartin. She made headlines by live-tweeting her father's time in hospice and her grieving process after he passed and channeled her experience into a comedy special, 45 Jokes About My Dead Dad. Dead People Suck is her hilarious guide to surviving (sometimes) death, dying, and grief without losing your mind.

Finding Your Way after the Suicide of Someone You Love is a compassionate and practical guide that addresses the intensely personal issues of survivors of suicide (SOS). This gentle and faith-affirming resource helps survivors know what to expect, especially during the first year following a suicide. It includes personal stories of survivors and suggestions on how to move beyond survival to live life again.

When renowned author Gail Godwin tripped and broke her neck while watering the dogwood tree in her garden at age eighty-five, a lifetime of writing and publishing behind her and a half-finished novel in tow, Bergman’s idea quickly unfurled in front of her, forcing her to confront a creative life interrupted. In Getting to Know Death, Godwin shares what spoke to her while in a desperate place.

Recent events have shown again how suicide touches all of us—often when we least expect it. But how to unpack the grief that follows such a painful, and often stigmatized, death? Ron Rolheiser can help.

From Old Yeller to Marley and Me, pet owners been bombarded over the years by emotionally wrenching stories that border on melodramatic and exploitive. In Going Home, Katz strikes a unique balance, giving readers a sentimental yet remarkably grounded guide to dealing with the passing of our canine friends.

As a hospice chaplain, Kerry Egan didn't offer sermons or prayers unless they were requested; in fact, she found, the dying rarely want to talk about God, at least not overtly. Instead she discovered she'd been granted an invaluable chance to witness firsthand what she calls the "spiritual work of dying" - the work of finding or making meaning of one's life, the experiences it's contained, and the people who have touched it, the betrayals, wounds, unfinished business, and unrealized dreams.

Stephen Alter was raised by American missionary parents in the hill station of Mussoorie, in the foothills of the Himalayas, where he and his wife Ameeta, now live. Their idyllic existence was brutally interrupted when four armed intruders invaded their house and viciously attacked them, leaving them for dead. The violent assault and the trauma of almost dying left him questioning assumptions he had lived by since childhood. For the first time, he encountered the face of evil and the terror of the unknown.

Every one of us experiences periods of pain and loss in our life—dark nights of the soul. This is a groundless territory where one feels directionless and devoid of tools, with no sense of how to take the next step. In ancient times, elders guided their communities through life's initiations and challenges, paths we must all take to transform and grow. In Walking through Darkness, legendary shamanic experts Sandra Ingerman and Llyn Roberts help us forge a pathway through the dark—as we embrace nature as our guide and healer.

After 30 years of battling obesity and struggling with her finances, Elizabeth Benton transformed herself. She lost 150 pounds, eliminated $130,000 of debt, and committed herself to guiding other women through their own transformations. Her inspiring story and methodologies have touched millions of lives.

The heartache of miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death affects thousands of United States families every year. Empty Cradle, Broken Heart, Third Edition offers reassurance to parents who struggle with anger, guilt, and despair during and after such a tragedy. In this new and updated edition, Deborah Davis encourages grieving and strives to cover many different kinds of loss, including information on issues such as the death of one or more babies from a multiple birth, pregnancy interruption, and the questioning of aggressive medical intervention.

Tender, heartbreaking, and eye-opening, the true stories in Glimpses of Heaven offer a window into the world beyond and life after death.

Media executive Michelle D. Hord has suffered loss at almost every major phase in her life—the most devastating being the murder of her beloved daughter at the hands of her ex-husband. Yet through it all, there was a voice inside her insisting that she must let the light shine through the holes in her heart. A timeless and accessible book for anyone who has experienced grief or loss, The Other Side of Yet is a guide for healing.

When Cariad was just fifteen, her dad died. She became the person-whose-dad-had-died; a mess of emotions and questions; a grief-mess. Years later, she began trying to unravel this tightly wound grief. What had happened? What effect had it all had on who she was? She started Griefcast, the podcast that talks openly, honestly and at times cheerfully about life’s most difficult moment: its end.

In 1999, Abby Reyes lost her partner, Terence Unity Freitas, as he and two others were murdered after departing Kajka Ika—the heart of the world—of Indigenous U’wa territory in Colombia. Imperiled by multinational oil interests, U’wa lifeways were under attack. Terence, Ingrid Washinawatok El-Issa (Menominee), and Lahe’ena’e Gay (Hawaiian) arrived to listen to community needs and accompany the U’wa. But then they disappeared. Days later, their bodies were found, bound and bullet-riddled in a cow field across the border in Venezuela.

In grief, it is normal to wonder if you will ever feel okay again. Loneliness, fear, confusion, and anger make hope hard to come by. And yet, grieving in hope is vital to the healing process. Written at a much-appreciated length, this brief book gently guides listeners through the healing process of grief. Showing how grief doesn't happen in neat orderly stages, it explains how to work through painful emotions and questions and find God's peace and healing.

Coach Coco shares her personal journey of compassion, loss and grief for her sick loved ones, in such a relatable manner that it makes the stories seamless and enlightening. She touches on her experiences caring for her godmother with Alzheimer’s disease from a truthful perspective, sharing the highs and lows of that sad condition.

How do we reckon with our losses? In Animal Bodies Suzanne Roberts explores the link between death and desire and what it means to accept our own animal natures, the parts we most often hide, deny, or consider only with shame-our taboo desires and our grief.

The award-winning memoir When All That's Left of Me Is Love is poignant and powerful. Linda Campanella provides an intimate look inside her family and her heart as she relives the joy-filled year and long good-bye leading to her terminally ill mother's death. In the process, she comes to terms with the permanence of her loss and finds comfort in profound gratitude for many unexpected gifts.

When you're going through a season of grief, it's hard to fathom that there will be a day when you won't be hurting. Throughout Scripture we are taught to humble ourselves and love one another because empathy is born from loving our neighbor. If you've ever experienced loss, you're able to help others turn their grief into grace and create hope and purpose from what feels devastating and heartbreaking.