23 Comforting Books About Loss

This book provides a path to rethink our relationship with grief. It encourages readers to see their grief as a natural response to death and loss, rather than an aberrant condition needing transformation. By shifting the focus from grief as a problem to be solved to an experience to be tended to, we give the reader what we most want for ourselves: understanding, compassion, validation, and away through the pain.

This is a great book for anyone who is interested in introducing themselves into the world of investing, or wants to hone their skills and better themselves. Although, while a great book I would not recommend it to anyone who doesn’t have the discipline to treat this book like a college textbook. Annotate, take notes, and create a guide. If you want to start taking investing seriously and want to begin practicing the discipline of self-education, this is the book for you.

Emotional and intimacy issues which contaminate relationships are solved in this book along with a proven strategy for enhancing all aspects of personal connection. These insightful answers can transform an adult or teen from feeling frustrated, insecure and isolated into a happy, radiant and confident person.

I bought this for my dad, after losing his wife. He was incredibly distraught and racked with grief. Upon receipt, he read the book cover to cover and said it made a difference like night and day to him. He is so grateful for this book, and so am I. He even brought it to his group grief therapy to recommend it to them. The man who runs the group knew of it and also sang it’s praises.

Two decades after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, America still is reeling from lingering trauma. Award-winning journalist Bill Tammeus was among those who suffered the personal loss of a relative that day. In this inspiring and hopeful book, Tammeus takes us to the heart of that gripping drama. He helps us to understand the many sources of religious extremism — and what can be done to stop it. Finally, he invites us to reclaim core values that can help all of us become peacemakers in today’s tumultuous world. The people who perished on 9/11 — whether as airline passengers, first responders, office workers or others who simply were in the wrong place when catastrophe struck — must be remembered and their legacies honored. One way that can happen is by each of us committing ourselves to being thoughtful, loving people who can help lead others away from violent extremism rooted in misguided theology. To make that commitment, start by reading this book. Then share it with others, writes best-selling author and pastor Adam Hamilton, whose Kansas City-based church has become the nation’s largest United Methodist congregation. In the Foreword that introduces readers to this powerfully transformative book, Hamilton explains, The loss of Bill’s beloved nephew, who was just 31 years old at the time, sent waves of trauma through his family. It’s painful to read his account of that, but because this is a story of resilience and hope, readers will come away not with a smothering sense of despair but, rather, with an understanding that even in the bleakest of times there is something real and generative, something divine, on which they can depend. We Christians are all about hope. But so are many other faith traditions, and Bill, who has worked on behalf of interfaith understanding and dialogue for decades, understands that and encourages all of us — no matter what religion we claim as our own — to seek peace and reconciliation and to oppose approaches to religion that lead vulnerable young men and women to murder in the name of God. In her Afterword to the book, peacemaker and community consultant Mindy Corporon puts it simply: This book raises many questions about how humans choose to live either in healthy, generative ways or, by contrast, to murder others while, at the same time, losing their own lives. Such profound questions form the landscape of this book and they touch each of us because they are questions we cannot ignore. Bill’s memoir teaches us that the depth of evil can and must be overshadowed with an even deeper love of one another and of life itself. Tammeus echoes that message in his conclusion: Although I am familiar with the story of failure and evil in human history, my faith urges me not to let that overwhelm me but to keep hope alive — and to do that by encouraging myself and others to live healthy, generous, redemptive lives. So I try. I try but fail regularly. And I hope you will try, too, perhaps by engaging in some of the behaviors and approaches that I outline in this book about how to stand against radical religious nonsense that leads to violence.

In creating Never Long Enough – a unique book about the end of life, Rabbi Joseph H. Krakoff and artist Dr. Michelle Y. Sider brought together their many years of professional expertise with families. Krakoff drew on lessons learned in many years of counseling adults and children wrestling with death, grief and remembrance. Sider’s years working as an artist, arts educator and psychologist influenced her approach in creating evocative images that demonstrate how art can help to unlock emotions and heal the heart. Together, they crafted an interactive keepsake book for families and friends, complete with pages to add personal reflections thereby transforming the book into an individualized tribute to a loved one.. Never Long Enough is designed to be read along with someone nearing the end of life — or, it can be read by mourners after a death. Whenever this book is opened, it becomes an active invitation for conversation, lifting up memories and preserving the legacy of someone’s life. “For many years, I’ve been working with families to guide them through honest conversations about the legacy and the values that remain even as someone we love dies,” Krakoff says. “This text has already comforted so many families through this difficult, emotionally charged time.” “I’ve seen how art can help people express themselves, bring out their feelings and tell stories. By weaving the words and art together, I hope the reader will move slowly through the pages and reflect deeply on the words. Reading and responding to this book as an individual or with loved ones becomes a very compelling and helpful experience.” says Sider. Krakoff originally developed the thought-provoking text while in Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. As he shared that text with families, he realized that powerful imagery would heighten the healing process of reflection. Sider, inspired by the text, envisioned pairing phrases in the poem to original art. Using various techniques, she created stirring images that powerfully illuminate the text, are inclusive of different ethnicities, religions and relationships and culminate in a final, powerful blend. Never Long Enough begins with a dedication page to fill in: “This book is presented to: ___________________.” Quantity purchasers of Never Long Enough can customize the front cover with a logo and the inside with a sponsor’s note — perhaps from a hospital, hospice, house of worship or funeral home who are providing this resource to families. “A beautiful book, poetic and wise and comforting. Read it for yourself and for those you love.” Rabbi David Wolpe, Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, CA “In this work, Rabbi Krakoff and Dr. Sider express with an elegantly simple sensitivity the goodness with which Almighty God stamps the loving bonds that make up the fabric of our mortal existence. I am confident that this beautiful book will help those who mourn find comfort in recognizing the blessings God gave them through their loved ones who have passed from this world to the next.”

Behind the Mask: Living Alone in the Epicenter is about the loss of social interaction during isolation, family functions, a beloved DJ that the author listened to for many years, and Kate’s lifeline – her church, which burned down in a six-alarm fire. She had no sanctuary left to return to after the pandemic. Looking forward to that was helping her to get through the other losses. Kate deals with it all by journaling. It brings clarity. She shares her newfound deeper appreciation for her home and the everyday things she took for granted. As she learns to make the most of things, the reader is uplifted and inspired.

After losing her 12-year-old daughter in a car accident, psychology professor Lucy Hone had to figure out a way forward with her sorrow. Resilient Grieving combines her bereavement research with positive psychology to show the human capacity for growth after traumatic loss. Calling “resilient grieving” an innate ability, her book details the ways possible to move through grief and discover how to live a more deeply engaged and meaningful life.

Life lessons can come from the most unlikely sources. TJ Nelligan learned this after his special-needs son tragically passed away on Father’s Day suddenly at the young age of 29. While writing his son’s eulogy, Live Like Sean became a recurring theme. Each anecdotal story ended with TJ encouraging others to live more like Sean. As a way to memorialize his son, TJ gathered all of the lessons that he learned from his son in an inspiring book, Live Like Sean: Important Life Lessons from My Special-Needs Son that reflects on the remarkable life Sean led. Live Like Sean provides a first-person perspective on seeing the world through the eyes of his special-needs son, who taught the world more than it could ever teach him. While this is a book that TJ wishes he never had to write, Live Like Sean, shows how life sometimes does not go as planned; however, the lessons learned along the new path can be far better than anything we could have ever envisioned.

A Brooklyn family unravels while a massive earthquake shakes Israel. Only Safran Foer’s immense talent can balance a towering story about a marriage breakup with a global political crisis. Innocence, identity, and faith are lost in his vibrant characters’ thoughts. This modern take on Jewish life will awe and inspire.

In Haslett’s atmospheric and emotional novel, two brothers are in crisis in a remote Maine cabin. Alec has been fighting to save his older brother Michael from the same mental illness that killed their father. An insightful look into a family’s struggles with prescription drug addiction and mental illness. Love’s power to overcome personal adversity will leave you breathless.

Clover, twelve, is starting her summer vacation, but her secret project of collecting memorabilia from around the family home has a serious purpose. She never knew her mother as a child, so she’s creating a museum in her honor. In Bray’s novel, a girl must learn to truly know her grieving mother. Uncovering painful truths about the past can ultimately bring us closer together.

Author Dr. Noelle Nelson grabbed her dogs, laptop, her mother’s jewelry and drove off, expecting to return as she had three times before to a smoky but intact home. Not this time. Her home had burned to the ground. She had nothing but the clothes on her back and the little she took with her. Thousands of people face this same kind of sudden and devastating loss every year from a natural disaster whether it be a fire, hurricane, flood or tornado. In Phoenix Rising, Dr. Nelson discusses how to create a new beginning, a new story after disaster strikes.

In this modern world of dating rife with disappointments, heartache, betrayal, and ghosting we all need a little reassurance to keep us from giving up. Every Ending is a New Beginning is a must read for anyone dealing with the pain of a breakup or contemplating ending a relationship. The book helps the reader to discover how to cope and move on after breakups by keeping things in perspective. It is a quick read with sound common sense straight talk which both inspires and motivates readers to turn to the next chapter of in their life..

Losing a loved one is never easy. Yet at some point in the process we must get on with, and enjoy, life again…otherwise two lives are lost. Embracing Life After Loss: A Gentle Guide for Growing Though Grief is written in an easy-to-read, open-anywhere, format. It provides five encouraging steps to help readers move from loss to laughter…losing, learning, letting go, living, and finally, laughing. The author knows about loss; his wife died when she was 34. The books he read after his loss told him how terrible he would feel. He didn’t need that. What he needed was a book that inspired him, held his hand, and encouraged him to enjoy life again. That is what this book can do for you.

When Laura Whitfield was fourteen, her extraordinary brother, Lawrence, was killed in a mountain climbing accident. That night she had an epiphany: Life is short. Dream big, even if it means taking risks. So, after graduating from high school, she set out on her own, prepared to do just that.

I read this book after I had lost someone very close to me. I loved reading this book because it addresses the most fundamental aspect of our existence: Death. I never thought that Death needs preparation, just like other activities. This book uncovers what preparation is required for the final act of our life. Moreover, this book also covers how the near-and-dear ones can assist someone who is dying. The title of this book rightly says that this book is for all those who shall die.

I’m recommending this as the best book for loss that you should read when grieving. Written by two authors who have experienced it firsthand, this book offers solace from the newly bereaved to those who lost a loved one years ago. Whether you’re grieving the sudden loss of a loved one or helping someone else through their grief, I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye offers a comforting hand to help guide you through the grieving process. The book shows grieving readers how to endure, survive and grow from the pain and turmoil surrounding their loss. Readers also benefit from helpful exercises that are included in the book to make dealing with the grieving process a bit easier and a lot understandable.

Your Memory Lives On provides you with pages where you can express yourself freely and honor the memory of your loved one. This book is more like a journal that prompts you to help understand your emotions and find peace. As a result, it provokes feelings and healing from mourning as each day passes. In this book, Ink Harmony also writes exercises to reflect on special moments shared with your loved one to bring back beautiful memories. I suggest it as the best book to deal with a loss.

A Buddhist Grief Observed is somehow similar to A grief Observed as both are about losing a beloved partner. But both have their different storyline on which the books are based. The book authored by Guy Newland offers a meditation which means how a man or woman can practice Dharma or walk on the path of Dharma and good practices when he or she has suffered a lot and seen many deviations and ups & downs in their lives.

The author kept a journal during his time of grief and shared it with us. His grief is easy to feel because of Lewis’ ability to describe it so well. If a reader is experiencing grief, I believe that he or she will know that they are not alone in their feelings. I was particularly moved with Lewis telling us about a day in which he started loudly sobbing in his chair. He was worried about the effect this might have on his adopted son, whose mother he had married, but the author simply couldn’t help crying like that right then. Lewis’ marriage at a relatively older age than normal to a young woman who died several years later was originally a marriage of convenience. Thusm Lewis was quite surprised to find that it became a close and loving relationship. He never expected his grief to be so profound when his wife died of cancer. As a matter of fact, her death was most devastating to hom. Thankfully, for the rest of us, he was able to take us into his own experience so that a sense of the gried became ours as well.

The book tells the story of 2 strangers meeting each other for the first time on one faithful day, their End Day. They go on a life-changing adventure together where they learned about friendship and love as well as the inevitable loss and death.

This book is all about the notion that grief does not have a timeline. It will tell you things about grief that only people who lost someone understand. These will make you realize that everyone processes grief differently and that you need to be patient. The author is a grief expert and hospice chaplain. He has seen many people in anguish. This made him realize how important the grieving part is. In this book, he provides resources to assist family members and loved ones in helping through difficult moments.