While everyone has unique ways of grieving, there are plenty of books on the market that can help with the process. It’s something that you don’t want to go through alone, and a good book can help you understand the process and start to heal. Here are some books on grief that you can check out right now.
Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
You may already the name Sheryl Sandberg, as she is the COO of Facebook and the author of the bestselling book Lean In. She wrote this book after facing grief unexpectedly in her own life. While only in her mid-40s, she found her husband Dave Goldberg suddenly passed away, while they were on vacation in Mexico.
Then, she found she had to keep parenting their children and working at her high-profile job, all while having to carry around that grief. In this book, she describes this as her ‘Option B’. It’s not the life she wanted, and so she suddenly found herself having to live that Option B.
You’ll see how you can live with your own Option B, and how the human spirit can persevere even in the worst of times. It’s a great book to help you overcome your grief and live your life, now that it has changed.
I Wasn’t Ready To Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One by Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, PhD
This is another book that’s a good choice for those that have suffered a sudden loss. The authors cover the different grieving processes that you may go through, depending on the circumstances of your loved one’s death. For example, they’ll walk you through grieving the loss of someone due to suicide or homicide and show you how that can look for you.
You’ll also find plenty of myths about grieving broken down for you, showing you that grief looks different for everybody. The book will be able to meet you where you are, so you can start healing.
Resilient Grieving: Finding Strength and Embracing Life After a Loss That Changes Everything by Lucy Hone, PhD
Author Lucy Hone wrote this book after suffering the loss of her 12-year-old daughter in a car accident. When her daughter died, she had to work out how she could go forward without her in her life. This book details how she did so, combining positive psychology with research on grieving.
As she says in the book, ‘The death of someone we hold dear may be inevitable; being paralyzed by our grief is not.’ She will show you how you can move forward through your grief and find value in your life even without that loved one by your side.
Please Be Patient, I’m Grieving: How To Care For and Support the Grieving Heart by Gary Roe
Gary Roe is a hospital chaplain and grief specialist and has written this practical guide to help you through the entire grieving process. If you want something that will give you real-world advice on grieving, this book is for you.
You’ll find advice on how to move on with life after the death of a loved one, such as a spouse. It also has good advice for those who are supporting people who are grieving, so you can help them through the process. With this book, you can understand what you’re going through, and what you should do next.
On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss, by Elizabeth Kubler Ross and David Kessler
The five stages of grief are widely known, thanks to Elizabeth Kubler Ross’s title ‘On Death and Dying’. In this book written before her own death, she and David Kessler examine the experience of grief, and how it affects people differently.
The book shows you that the process of grieving will be lifelong, and while some people may want you to “get over” their death, it’s not something that you can “get over”. Instead, you can learn to live with the grief and rebuild yourself around the experience you have been through.
There’s lots more in this book too, such as information on case studies, practical advice, and personal experience. If you want a boom by the real experts on grief, then this is the one for you.
When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
This book gives you a different take on grief, from Pema Chodron who is a Buddhist nun. When you lose a loved one, you understandably want to avoid the feelings and pain of grief. However, she actually advises readers to move towards those feelings.
When you do so, you’ll be able to start processing what has happened and start healing. As she says, ‘The trick is to keep exploring and not bail out, even when we find out something is not what we thought.’ The book also brings in Buddhist philosophy, so if you want a take on grieving that embraces spirituality, then this will work for you.
When Bad Things Happen To Good People by Harold S. Kushner
Here’s another title that helps bring in spirituality and belief when it comes to grief. Harold Kushner was a young rabbi when he found out his 3-year-old son had a fatal illness. He ended up spending his whole life working to understand the idea of grief, and how we can rebuild our lives around it.
This book will help you if you’re facing a similar situation and show you experiences from others who have been through this and have come out the other side.
These seven books are some of the best out there on understanding and exploring grief. If you have lost a loved one and need guidance on working your way through it, try any of these out. They will help you recontextualize grief and cope with the loss.
Emily Henry is a writer at Coursework Writing Service, where she focuses on books and book reviews.
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