You are NOT crazy, although grief can make you feel like you are losing your mind. The emotional, mental, and physical effects of grief can have you spinning. Sleepless nights, no appetite, zero focus or lapses in memory, body aches and pain, crazy emotional swings, and times of overwhelming sorrow have you wondering if there is any hope for recovering from this. You will find solutions in this book. By the time we are finished, you will be able to say that you are now looking at your upcoming life season with much more optimism and hope. For every paperback copy sold, $1 is donated to Qs Army, Kelli's non-profit helping families recover from the loss of a loved one due to overdose in honor of her son Quintin. Wanna skip the reading and grab the audio version for FREE? Go to www.imnotcrazyimgrieving.com to get the audio download.
Explaining the important difference between grief and mourning, this book explores every mourner's need to acknowledge death and embrace the pain of loss. Also explored are the many factors that make each person's grief unique and the many normal thoughts and feelings mourners might have. Questions of spirituality and religion are addressed as well. The rights of mourners to be compassionate with themselves, to lean on others for help, and to trust in their ability to heal are upheld. Journaling sections encourage mourners to articulate their unique thoughts and feelings.
After a significant loss, it' s common to feel like we' re going crazy. The sudden absence of someone we love is not only devastating, it' s disorienting. They were here one moment, and now they' re... gone? Forever? How can that be? The first year or two of grief is often unbelievably painful and confusing. We' re in shock, often for weeks or months. Time seems out of whack. We feel powerless, helpless, and ineffective. We can' t think straight; we can' t get anything done. Our moods swing wildly, and we say and do crazy things. We cry, and we cling to objects that belonged to the person who died. We have bizarre dreams. We think we hear, see, or experience communications from the person who died. We wonder if we can (or should) go on. And through it all, our minds and hearts return over and over again to the impossible reality that can never again talk to or touch a person who lived and breathed and gave our lives so much meaning. There is nothing more challenging than the early months and years of a major life loss. But this compassionate book, by one of the world' s most beloved grief counselors, will help you endure. Dr. Wolfelt presents the six key steps to coping with a death. You may feel like you' re going crazy, but you' re not. You' re grieving! Your thoughts, feelings, and reactions are normal. And you can and will survive. What' s more, your days in deep grief will be a little easier if you turn to these six steps.
Challenging conventional wisdom on grief, a pioneering therapist offers a new resource for those experiencing loss When a painful loss or life-shattering event upends your world, here is the first thing to know: there is nothing wrong with grief. “Grief is simply love in its most wild and painful form,” says Megan Devine. “It is a natural and sane response to loss.” So, why does our culture treat grief like a disease to be cured as quickly as possible? In It’s OK That You’re Not OK, Megan Devine offers a profound new approach to both the experience of grief and the way we try to help others who have endured tragedy. Having experienced grief from both sides—as both a therapist and as a woman who witnessed the accidental drowning of her beloved partner—Megan writes with deep insight about the unspoken truths of loss, love, and healing. She debunks the culturally prescribed goal of returning to a normal, “happy” life, replacing it with a far healthier middle path, one that invites us to build a life alongside grief rather than seeking to overcome it. In this compelling and heartful book, you’ll learn: • Why well-meaning advice, therapy, and spiritual wisdom so often end up making it harder for people in grief • How challenging the myths of grief—doing away with stages, timetables, and unrealistic ideals about how grief should unfold—allows us to accept grief as a mystery to be honored instead of a problem to solve • Practical guidance for managing stress, improving sleep, and decreasing anxiety without trying to “fix” your pain • How to help the people you love—with essays to teach us the best skills, checklists, and suggestions for supporting and comforting others through the grieving process Many people who have suffered a loss feel judged, dismissed, and misunderstood by a culture that wants to “solve” grief. Megan writes, “Grief no more needs a solution than love needs a solution.” Through stories, research, life tips, and creative and mindfulness-based practices, she offers a unique guide through an experience we all must face—in our personal lives, in the lives of those we love, and in the wider world. It’s OK That You’re Not OK is a book for grieving people, those who love them, and all those seeking to love themselves—and each other—better.
Acknowledging the unique set of symptoms that accompanies a period of mourning, this guide is the ideal companion to weathering the storm of physical distress. From muscle aches and pains to problems with eating and sleeping, this handbook addresses how the body responds to the impact of profound loss. Low energy, headaches, and other conditions are also taken into account. With 100 ways to help soothe the body and calm the mind, this compassionate study is an excellent resource in understanding the connection between the two.
The grief books that just "gets it." Each year about eight million Americans suffer the unexpected death of a loved one. For those who face the challenges of sudden death, the classic guide I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye offers a comforting hand to hold, written by two authors who have experienced it firsthand. Acting as a touchstone of sanity through difficult times, this book covers such difficult topics as: The first few weeks Suicide Death of a Child Children and Grief Funerals and Rituals Physical effects Homicide Depression Featured on ABC World News, Fox and Friends and many other shows, this book has offered solace to over eight thousand people, ranging from seniors to teenagers and from the newly bereaved those who lost a loved one years ago. An exploration of unexpected death and its role in the cycle of live, I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye provides survivors with a rock-steady anchor from which to weather the storm of pain and begin to rebuild their lives. Praise for I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye: "I highly recommend this book, not only to the bereaved, but to friends and counselors as well."-- Helen Fitzgerald, author of The Grieving Child, The Mourning Handbook, and The Grieving Teen "This book, by women who have done their homework on grief... can hold a hand and comfort a soul through grief's wilderness. Outstanding references of where to see other help."-- George C. Kandle, Pastoral Psychologist "Finally, you have found a friend who can not only explain what has just occurred, but can take you by the hand and lead you to a place of healing and personal growth...this guide can help you survive and cope, but even more importantly... heal."-- The Rebecca Review "For those dealing with the loss of a loved one, or for those who want to help someone who is, this is a highly recommended read."--Midwest Book Review
If you or a close friend are now or about to become a widower, this book can help you. The physical, emotional, and psychological pain will be greater than you can imagine. A widower may think that he is going crazy, his judgement is often distorted, and his social filters can be almost nonexistent. Nights often become sleepless delusional times from which there is no escape. Widower to Widower is written to provide widowers with desperately needed help during their grieving process. It is also a resource to therapists who assist widowers, to friends and family who want to better understand what he is going through, and to women who have befriended a widower. Colby's own experience made him desperate to find answers so he could avoid making bad life choices. He quickly found that resources for widowers were minimal and often of questionable value. This led him to write Widower to Widower. He drew upon thirty years of writing experience writing during his non-profit career. REVIEWS: "Fred Colby's book, Widower to Widower, shares his experiences as he navigates the grief process following the death of his wife. With a straight-forward voice and clear writing style, Fred provides insight from his personal journey to provide education, understanding and comfort to other men who are grieving. This book is an essential tool for grief counselors as well as their male clients." Mia Towbin, MS, LMFT - Grief Counselor. "For any man who has suffered, either recently or not so recently, the death of his beloved wife, Fred Colby's book is essential reading. As a fellow widower, I give this book my highest recommendation." Robert Devereaux, Widower, Writer, Actor Hundreds of widowers have offered their praise of Widower to Widower on Fred Colby's Testimonies/Reviews page at fredcolby.com.
C.S. Lewis's honest contemplation on the fundamental questions of life, death, and faith in the midst of loss is A Grieving Observed, a famous essay on grief. A Grief Observed is an unflinchingly honest story of how grief may cause even the most devoted believer to lose all sense of meaning in the universe, and the uplifting tale of how he can perhaps regain his bearings, written after his wife's untimely death as a way of surviving the "mad midnight moments."
When it comes to healing after the death of someone loved, our culture has it all wrong. We're told to be strong when what we really need is to be vulnerable. We're told to think positive when what we really need is to wallow in the pain. And we're told to seek closure when what we really need is to welcome our natural and necessary grief. Dr. Wolfelt's new book seeks to dispel these misconceptions that we hold on to so tightly and help people everywhere mourn well so they can live fuller lives. The Paradoxes of Mourning discusses three truths that grieving people used to know and respect but in the last century, seem to have forgotten: 1. You must make friends with the darkness before you can enter the light. 2. You must go backward before you can go forward. 3. You must say hello before you can say goodbye. In the tradition of the Four Agreements and the Seven Habits, this compassionate and inspiring guidebook by North America's most beloved grief counselor gives you the three keys that unlock the door to hope and healing.
