4 Grief and Loss Books to Read On Your Journey Out of Depression
Grief and loss books are a huge help when suffering through your pain and depression. Reading is a healing experience. Why? Perhaps because it allows us to see that others suffer as well. We aren’t the only ones. It’s like allowing someone to come alongside us in our pain who has gone through the same...
I found great therapy in reading...
I myself found great therapy in reading the biographies, journals and poems of others who wrote through their pain. Reading a grief poem, for example, can be like someone has gone inside your heart and expressed all that pain for you.
"My 4 Recommendations on Grief and Loss Books..."
1. "Tear Soup"
I heard about this book from a woman whose husband was a recent colleague of mine. She lost her husband, my former colleague, in a car crash. She was in the passenger seat while he was driving when a semi truck driving way too fast and making a turn smashed into their vehicle. He was killed instantly. They had just celebrated their 1 year anniversary, I believe a few months, before the crash. Since that tragic accident, she has been mourning and grieving his early departure.
She’s found it a therapeutic book in her journey towards healing from grief and depression.
2. The writer of “The Chronicles of Narnia”
...lost his wife to cancer and wrote his grief and loss book entitled, "A Grief Observed"
Lewis wrote the book near the end of his life after a dramatic and unexpected romance that ended in the death of his new wife from cancer.
3. The most popular grief and loss book for the last 20 years is, ”When Bad Things Happen to Good People”
I was given a copy of this book when I went through my depression.
4. In her book, “On Death and Dying” (MacMillan, 1969), Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
...describes five stages of grieving. Grieving is a process -it does not happen quickly or easily. When you grieve, you may move back and forth between these stages, sometimes many times, before truly accepting the loss.
Kubler-Ross’s 5 Stages of Grief
Stage 1: Denial
You would respond with a, “This can’t be happening!” or, “Ah, it’s nothing serious!”
Stage 2: Anger
“Why me?”, “Why, God?” and “It’s not fair.”
Stage 3: Bargaining (often with God)
“If only…, then….”
Stage 4: Depression
In this stage there is a loss of energy, feelings of self-blame, and a desire to die. You give up. “It’s no use….”
Stage 5: Acceptance
This is when we let go and stop attempting to control our life. It is a choice after a long process. The struggle is over and we experience relief. Acceptance is not resignation; rather, resignation may lead to bitterness or resentment, and is likely to occur if we don’t go through the process and reach the point of acceptance.
Grieving is so important. And reading a grief and loss book can help our grief be expressed in a healthy way -so it doesn’t become bad grief. If we do not allow ourselves to grieve we end up suffering from bitterness, resentment, depression, and withdraw from life. Bottling up grief may also cause us to express anger inappropriately.
TAKE ACTION
1. Find yourself some grief and loss books
as you make your way on your journey home.
2. If you are grieving and are in need of grief counseling, be sure to speak with someone who knows how to listen.
There is hope! You are worth it!
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