Grief Books for General Grief

	Are you grieving the loss of a loved one? Charles Graybar, an internationally known and best-selling author is writing The Last Chapters, a book focused on the lives of people who died suddenly. It will be a tribute several extraordinary people who lived ordinary lives. Please consider sharing the story of your loved one for inclusion in this thoughtful and sensitive book.
	Compassion Books, Inc. Offers hundreds of carefully selected resources for all ages on grief and losses of all kinds, including loss of a loved one, serious illness, divorce, suicide, violence and trauma, Spanish and professional materials. Browse our offerings to find stories, teaching guides, activity books, group process materials, videos, CDs and the best and latest in resources for counselors, therapists, and schools - all carefully reviewed by trained professionals and persons who have experienced similar losses. We choose only materials that sing out hope without denying that to grieve a loss can be challenging, difficult and painful.
	From Here to There, by Ben Keckler A wonderfully illustrated book with some honest reflection…“a powerful ‘everybody’ book about the roller coaster ride of emotions for people on their transitional journey from here to there.”
	I Wonder What You Do on Your First Day in Heaven by Phoebe Welsh A thoughtfully written and beautifully illustrated book about birth and celebration, death and grief, wonder and hope. Phoebe Welsh's simply written text and full-page, color illustrations gently take her reader on a journey through life and death, enabling the reader to explore their own feelings about the loss of a loved one. "It is simple and gets at exactly the feelings and questions that are part of the response to death."
	My Friend, Matilda, by Ben Keckler The story of the unconditional love a pet demonstrates, told in poetic verse. This story of pet friendship will be a valued treasure, and a reminder of the significance of relationships through each transitional journey in life.
	The Dragonfly Door By John Adams The Dragonfly Door is a beautifully illustrated children's book about loss and change. It is a tender story of two insect friends who live underwater. One day, Lea disappears. While sleeping, Nym discovers Lea has died and receives a glimpse of what Lea has become.

Amanda the Panda
From the Heart of a Bear, by JoAnn Zimmerman, who IS Amanda the Panda. This is the story of the remarkable journey of an amazing lady with a heart the size of the universe and a special love for children who are sick and/or grieving. She created a huge, lovable Panda Bear that children could trust and who could teach them to dream. She designed summer camps for children who are grieving the death of a loved one and for children who are dealing with life-threatening illness. These are their stories and this is a map of the journey that brought the lady and the children together.

Grief: Difficult Times, Simple Steps, by Emily Waszak
In a practical format, this guide shows what to do and what not to do for a person who has suffered the death of a loved one. Using the language of the lay person, the book contains over 100 tips for caregivers or loved ones—a simple step is presented on each page, followed by reasons and instructions for each step.; After these steps are mastered, it will be possible to educate others so that death becomes more familiar and maybe a little easier to deal with. Available from amazon.com.

Grief Steps: 10 Steps to Regroup, Rebuild and Renew After Any Life Loss, by Brook Noel.
In "Grief Steps," author Brook Noel discusses the ten normal steps for working through grief. For some people one step may be so short that it is unnoticed as they pass through, others may spend a great deal of time in that particular place. We are all different and while we handle grief differently in many respects, we also go through it in similar stages. This book is about those stages and moving through the progression to healing. Available from amazon.com.

How Can I Help?/What Will Help Me? 12 things to do when someone you know suffers a loss / 12 things to remember when you have suffered a loss (two in one book), by James E. Miller
In 12 brief, easy-to-read chapters, to offers helpful suggestions for how one can move through one's grief in a healthy, healing way. Held the opposite way (so the back cover becomes the front cover), it's a book for those who want to help someone who is grieving. Its 12 succinct chapters offer positive, practical advice. Available from amazon.com.

How To Go On Living When Someone You Love Dies by Therese A. Rando
Mourning the death of a loved one is a process all of us will go through at one time or another. But wherever the death is sudden or anticipated, few are prepared for it or for the grief it brings. There is no right or wrong way to grieve; each person's response to loss will be different. Now, in this compassionate, comprehensive guide, Therese A. Rando, Ph.D., bereavement specialist and author of Loss And Anticipatory Grief, leads gently through the painful but necessary process of grieving and helps you find the best way for yourself. Available from amazon.com.

Journeys of Courage by Joy Carol
Answers the outcry for stories of healing in the violent and turbulent times in which we live. These are powerful accounts about the transformation and healing experienced by communities that have courageously faced horrendous challenges. Available from amazon.com.

Living With Grief: A Guide for Your First Year of Grieving by Noel Brook
Pamela D., Ph.D. Blair. A caring and compassionate guide through the first year of grief. In the wake of grief, we face a whirlwind of emotions, pain and physical symptoms. Best-selling grief authors Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D. share the wisdom they have gleaned from their own experience and from working with hundreds of people who have survived such a loss. Available from amazon.com.

No Time To Grieve: A Survivor's Guide To Loss And Healing by Judy Strong
The mourning period is riddled with shock, grief and confusion that boggle the mind, but at the same time, we are expected to make a series of important decisions, many of which may impact our future. Strong's concise handbook details the emotional, legal, financial, logistical, and personal issues that come like waves over the surviving heirs. It's an essential checklist to help keep the mind, body and life glued together during one of life's most trying times. Available from amazon.com.

Overcoming Grief by John S. Munday
Covers the basics: how support groups operate, why they are often helpful, how to find the right one for you and what to do when you go to the sessions. It also discusses the place and role of religion and clergy in relation to the bereaved. Available from Amazon.com.

Seasons of Grief and Healing by James E. Miller
Drawn from Jim Miller's best-selling Winter Grief, Summer Grace, this book includes the helpful features of the original—a compassionate exploration of feelings; inspiring passages from the Bible, poetry and great literature; and simple renewal activities that help readers move through stages, or "seasons," of grief at their own pace and in their own unique way. Available from amazon.com.

Spinning Gold out of Straw: How Stories Heal by Diane Rooks
This is a meaningful, penetrating examination of narrative storytelling as an emotional bonding and healing process. Chapters cover the positive psychological and health-enhancing effects of storytelling, from validating listeners as individuals to transforming pain and offering hope. Recommended reading for psychology students, therapists and counselors, Spinning Gold Out Of Straw is a most fascinating read, but perhaps its highest recommendation comes from the gentle healing stories within its pages. Available from amazon.com.

Tear Soup by Pat Schweibert, Chuck DeKlyen, Illustrator
In this modern fable, accompanied with full color illustrations, a woman who has suffered a terrible (unnamed) loss cooks up a special batch of "tear soup," blending the unique ingredients of her life into the grief process. Along the way she dispenses a recipe of sound advice for those who are in mourning or know someone who has suffered a loss. Tear Soup is one of the most popular grief resources available for children and adults. Available from amazon.com.

The Next Place by Warren Hanson
An inspirational journey of light and hope to a place where earthly hurts are left behind. This is the ultimate gift to give to anyone who has suffered a loss. The kind of loss matters not—parent, grandparent, child, even pet—just as the person's faith or secular humanism matters not. When you give this book, you are giving acknowledgement, sympathy, comfort, friendship or love. Everyone who has suffered loss would gain something from this book. Available from amazon.com.

When Someone Dies by Sharon Greenlee, Bill Drath , Illustrator
This is a beautifully written book that will help anyone deal with the feelings and experiences of losing someone you love. It validates the pain and gently leads the reader to begin to find life in the loss. Available from amazon.com.

Winter Grief, Summer Grace: Returning to Life After a Loved One Dies by James E. Miller
In a time of grief when so many books are so harsh this is a very soft, feel good book that makes you reflect on the good that is still in your life. It does not focus on what you "should" be doing or feeling, but rather gives you permission to grieve and to also move forward. Available from amazon.com.

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We look forward to expanding our good grief resources to offer more services for people suffering from grief and for people who provide support for the bereaved. If you have a grief related resource, please let us know about it by adding your listing.