Dr Eben Alexander – Proof of Heaven
Julian Barnes – Levels of Life
Brené Brown – Daring Greatly
Brené Brown – Rising Strong
Theresa Cheung – The Afterlife is Real
The Reverend Richard Coles – The Madness of Grief: A Memoir of Love and Loss (Richard was also one of our retreat guests on the Isle of Bute in February 2022!)
Genevieve Davis Ginsburg – Widow to Widow
Megan Devine – It’s ok that you’re not ok
Joan Didion – The Year of Magical Thinking
Erich Fried – Voruebungen fuer ein Wunder (German)
Bill Guggenheim & Judy Guggenheim – Hello from Heaven
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross – Death: The Final Stage of Growth (and other books by her)
Lama Surya – Das Awakening the Buddhist Heart
C.S. Lewis – A Grief Observed
Helen Macdonald – H is for Hawk
Louise Moir – Irreplaceable: A Journey Through Love, Loss and Healing (the author’s journey leading up to and following the suicide of her husband)
Patrick Ness – A Monster Calls (brilliant book about facing and speaking the truth around terminal illness, especially how a child experiences painful uncertainty and unhappiness)
Lindsay Nicholson – Living on the Seabed
Mary Oliver – New and Selected Poems, Volumes One & Two
Bob Olson – Answers about the Afterlife
Max Porter – Grief is the Thing with Feathers
Christopher Rush – To Travel Hopefully
Julia Samuel – Grief Works: Stories of Life, Death and Surviving
Sheryl Sandberg – Option B
Heather Stang – Mindfulness & Grief
John Strelecky Das Café am Rande der Welt (German)
Neale Donald Walsh – Home with God
Jon Kabat-Zinn – Wherever You Go, There You Are – Mindfulness Meditation for Everyday Life
(Various) Staying Alive – Real Poems for Unreal Times
More books
I recently asked members of an online grief support group which books they’d found particularly helpful. I haven’t read these myself (yet) but will check them out:
Susan Anderson – The Journey from Abandonment to Healing: Surviving Through and Recovering from the Five Stages That Accompany the Loss of Love
Helen Bailey – When Bad Things Happen in Good Bikinis
Claire Bidwell Smith – After This: When Life Is Over, Where Do We Go?
Regina Brett – God Never Blinks: 50 Lessons for Life’s Little Detours
June Cerza Kolf – When Will I Stop Hurting?: Dealing with a Recent Death
Pema Chodron – When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Christopher Cooper – From Hell to Happiness (about coping with your loved one’s terminal illness and death – great resource for younger widowers)
Genevieve Davis Ginsburg – Widow to Widow: Thoughtful, Practical Ideas for Rebuilding Your Life
Joann Filomena – Widowed: Moving Through the Pain of Widowhood to Find Meaning and Purpose in Your Life Again
Lucy Hone, Karen Reivich – Resilient Grieving: Finding Strength and Embracing Life After a Loss That Changes Everything
Stephanie Jose – Progressing through Grief: Guided Exercises to Understand Your Emotions and Recover from Loss
Antoine Leiris – You Will Not Have My Hate
Elizabeth Lesser – Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
Max Lucado – God Will Carry You Through
Natascha McElhone – After You
Dr. Melvin L. Morse – Closer to the Light: Learning from Near Death Experiences of Children
Brook Noel, Pamela Blair – I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye: Surviving, Coping and Healing After the Sudden Death of a Loved One
Jan J. Owen – Fighting Forward: A Widow’s Journey from Loss to Life
Christina Rasmussen – Second Firsts: Live, Laugh and Love Again
Pat Schwiebert, Chuck DeKlyen – Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss
Jerry L. Sittser – A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss
Carol Staudacher – Meditations for Healing After the Death of a Loved One
Catherine Tidd – Confessions of a Mediocre Widow: Or, How I Lost My Husband and My Sanity
Martha Whitmore Hickman – Healing after Loss: Daily Meditations for Working through Grief
Alan D. Wolfelt – Healing a Spouse’s Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas After Your Husband or Wife Dies
Alan D. Wolfelt – Grief One Day at a Time: 365 Meditations to Help You Heal After Loss
Tom Zuba – Permission to Mourn: A New Way to Do Grief
Also check out:
Helpful organisations and support websites
Fire & Rain Soul Spa® | Bereavement Support UK 