On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss Paperback – August 12, 2014

I was given a copy of this book by a coworker a few years ago when my mother passed away. She said it was given to her by a friend when her father had passed and it helped her. It was an easy read, and I learned about the 5 stages of grief, and it really did help me along the way in dealing with grief. It won't solve your problems but you get a better understanding about the grieving process, and what to possibly expect in the time to come. But the bottom line is grief moves in waves. I've been so happy with it I have purchased at least 10 of these over the past few years and given them as gifts to those I have met or known that have recently experienced loss and may have trouble dealing with grief. Several of them have told me they were very appreciative of the gesture and loved the book. I do recommend.

I bought this book for a client that had just lost her second daughter. It was a really good book and great for grief! My client said that it should be given to every person that has lost somebody.

Lovely for grieving and anticipatory grief

If you’ve had to deal with grief, then you know that the process can be complicated. There are so many feelings to sort out, so many what- ifs to process, that you may often wonder if what you are feeling is normal, and if it will ever end. This book, On Grief and Grieving, is here to help you.This book’s subtitle refers to five stages of grief, which include denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. While each of these five areas is touched on in the book, there is much more to read than just these five stages and what they mean. When I first got this book, I was expecting a separate, long chapter for each of the five stages, but the book is not written that way. Rather, it spells out the five stages in the first chapter, then it proceeds to talk about more specific topics, like regrets, hauntings, isolation, anniversaries, suicide, and more.I was recommended this book following the passing of my spouse and I found that it did have many good, comforting things to offer. Probably the strongest takeaways from this book are: 1. Everyone’s grieving process is different and there is no single way to grieve and 2. Grief is all about YOU, and your individual needs. Don’t let others try to pressure you to ‘get over it’ or tell you that you’re taking things to extremes or acting childish. Grief is personal, and every single one of us needs the time to deal the situation and recover as we see fit, on our own terms.Grieving is a process. It is something we all have to go through from time to time and while there is no defined endpoint to grief, it is good to understand how grieving differs from person to person. It is also good to know that the way you choose to grieve, the way you cope, and the way you respond is perfectly fine. On Grief and Grieving does take somewhat of a spiritual angle from time to time, which may not be suitable to all readers, but it remains generic enough in the spiritual dimension that most anyone can relate. It’s a good guide to grief, and a book I recommend.

After I lost my spouse, I was confused and sad. This book was a godsend. It tells so many real-life stories of grief and what people go through, and as such was an amazing resource to embrace the new reality and understand your thoughts of sadness, despair, anger and hope. I have bought this book multiple times to give to relatives, friends and neighbors a month or so after their loss. This book healed me in so many ways by making me realize all the thoughts and emotions you feel are normal and how to deal with them. Many other simple day-to-day chores or activities are changed forever and that is okay. Can't recommend this book enough for the healing, closure and hope and, yes, joy that it helps you rediscover.

So often when we grieve people who have not experienced similar losses try to offer us suggestions of why the death made sense, why we shouldn't feel so bad, and that we should get over grieving and just move on with our lives. While sometimes those suggestions are good, and worthwhile, often we look back at others and think, you could not know how I feel. This book does a wonderful job of exploring the flood of emotions you feel after you lose someone.This book goes through in depth the stages of grieving and the misconnecptions that we may have about those stages. For example, acceptance does not mean, we are ok, and moving on without our loved one. In reality, it is knowing they have passed away and adjusting our lives around that loss, and guess what, you don't have to like moving on. I like how this book helps you explore the palette of grief that we all have with the deaths of loved ones.I honestly found myself weeping and remembering the deaths of my loved ones that I had recently lost. It was refreshing to read that the depth of the loss of my loved ones was normal, healthy, and even healing. I liked that in the forward the author felt that if he didn't lose sleep over writing the book, you would never lose sleep when reading the book. I can't recommmend this book enough for those who have lost loved ones. This book is a real blessing in the healing process of the death of a loved one.

It helped me with my guilt after losing my only son. I believe this book could save lives.