Books on Grief
This page of books on grief is a growing list compiled from readers of this website. If you have one you would like to add, please submit it in the form below. Future readers of the site will be most helped if you say something about the book and how it was helpful to you.
Books are listed in the order they were received by me:
Books on Grief
Comfort Food! Wonderful illustrations and very good reading. Grandy has just suffered a big loss in her life, and so she is cooking up her own unique batch of "tear soup." This soup helps to fill the void in her life that was created by her loss. It is also the winner of the Theologos Best Book Award. - Carla
by Ann Weems, forward by Walter Brueggemann, Westminister John Knox Press, Louisville, KY, 1995. Ann wrote these psalms of lament after her 21 year old son was tragically killed. She draws from the rich heritage of scripture in the Psalms to give personal voice to the grief and anguish she has felt. Her words deeply move anyone who is or has mourned. - Sherill
by Ashley Davis Prend saved my life. It was the first book that I read (and I read a few) that not only made me feel that grieving is healthy but helped me to understand that it will always be part of my life just as my relationship with my father will always be part of my life. I finally have real meaning back in my life and after so many years really do feel like I have 'transcended' my loss. - Steve
After losing my husband unexpectedly in 2005, Turn My Mourning into Dancing
rescued my broken soul. I re-read it every 6 months or so and I have several copies on hand for those unfortunate enough to walk the same road... - Marsha
A Great book by Dr. Alan D. Wolfelt Organized around the six needs that all mourners must yield to. Indeed Embrace. Spiritual Passages that, when read slowly and reflectively, help mourners work through their unique thoughts and feelings. - Alan
Writing Toward the Light - A Grief Journey
Laura Flett was a recently retired single mother when her only child killed himself at age 23. She had begun journaling a year or so earlier and the practice saved her own life when all she wanted was to go be with her lost child. Ms. Flett's experience helps other people dealing with grief and loss believe that they can return to life too, little by little.
The Last Rose: A True Celebration of Eternal Life
On March 6, 2004, Thomas Pierce, his wife, JoAnn, and his daughter Lisa were on the water taxi that overturned in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. He lost both of them that day.
Pierce’s account of the accident and the letter to Lisa written by one of the reservists that rescued her give the reader a grim understanding of what that day was like. But this is not a book about the accident—this is a book about the power of love. Love as we know it and understand it, and love that goes beyond our understanding. It is truly a celebration of two lives that will go on forever.
Author is dealing with the sudden death of her husband while at the same time advocating for her daughter's health. It is one of the best books I have read on the process of grief. So well written. - Judith
About Grief: Insights, Setbacks, Grace Notes, Taboos
Of everything I have read so far on the subject, this book knew me. It just seemed to put into words so many things I was feeling and going through but didn't know exactly how to articulate. It was warm, conversational, sometimes even funny, and spot on through out. This book helped me through so much. - Grace
Why?: Making Sense of God's Will
When the ground shakes, and a poor nation’s economy is destroyed; when the waters rise, washing away a community’s hopes and dreams; when a child suffers neglect and abuse; when violence tears apart nations; where is God? If God is all powerful, and if each one of us is a beloved child of God, then how can God allow tragedy and suffering to infest his creation?
When we lift our prayers to God, and no answer seems to come; when we earnestly seek to know the will of God for our lives, yet can't seem to discern it; when God seems far away; where is God? If God counts the hairs on our head, and knows every sparrow that falls, why is finding and understanding God's will so difficult at times?
In Why? Making Sense of God's Will best-selling author Adam Hamilton brings fresh insight to the age-old question of how to understand the will of God. Rejecting simplistic answers and unexamined assumptions, Hamilton addresses how we can comprehend God’s plan for the world and ourselves. - Adam
Housekeeping for the Soul: A Practical Guide to Restoring Your Inner Sanctuary (Na)
While the book was not written with those grieving as the primary audience, it is indeed those suffering the pain of loss who found the most benefit from "Housekeeping for the Soul." I would like to therefore recommend this title to those who grieve... - Sandra
is a work of fiction, but loss -- and a spiritual approach to dealing with it -- is discussed in many chapters. Since the heroine of the story, Melody, survives the loss of several people in her life, including her father and grandmother whom she was very connected with, the reader is able to relate to many of the feelings she struggles with. In one of the final chapters, Maman Marie, a friend of Melody's grandmother, relates her feelings about death, and she suggests a very unique way of looking at it. Several people who have read the story have commented on how Melody's journey through her grief has helped them deal with their own.
A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss
This book written by Jerry after he was involved in a car wreck that killed his Mother, Wife, and one child and injured two other children. It really spoke to me after the loss of my wife after 25 years of marriage. Jerry writes from a Christian perspective but he really addresses the feelings and highs and lows and disorientation that is common in the first year.
Here is a more detailed review of A Grace Disguised.
If you have read other books on grief that are not yet suggested, please feel free to add them in the form below.
Also check this page for other books on grief.
Have A Book to Suggest to Others?
Do you have a book that you found especially meaningful to you during your journey through grief and loss? Please tell us about it.
What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
Through the Eyes of a Lion by Levi Lusko
Written by Christian pastor. Levi Lusko gives a down to earth, biblically based description of the journey,that he and his wife travel through following …
Friend Grief and Anger: When Your Friend Dies and No One Gives A Damn
This is the first in a series of small books on grieving the death of a friend: books I promised to write for a friend before she died.
Synopsis:
…
The Sky Dreamer by Anne Morgan, illustrated by Celine Eimann
An achingly beautiful and ultimately comforting children's picture book about a young boy's journey through grief.
After Liam's sister Cassie dies, …