Grief Lending Library

This handbook helps those in mourning through what can be the hardest time of year—the holiday season. Readers will better understand their complex emotions after reading about such topics as honoring thoughts and feelings, creating new traditions, finding ways to de-stress, and incorporating healing rituals into the holiday season. All of the answers and advice in this guide are provided in the popular 100 ideas format that features one idea per page.

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• Holidays

Gives insightful mediation on the meaning of grief, showing how it can be the path toward a lasting love of those who have died. Describes the transition from loving in presence to loving in separation.

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• Organ Donors / Religious

A man, facing the trials and tribulations of a heart transplant, rediscovers life with a friend as they explore questions of life, love, and friendship in both Jewish and Christian traditions.

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• Organ Donors / Religious

Topics as notification of death, organ donation and funeral services are discussed candidly. Three easy-to-use checklists simplify the many tasks facing survivors and provide organization and efficiency at a time when chaos is more likely to rule. Spiritual and emotional issues relating to death are ably presented.

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When 16-year-old Tessa suffers a shocking accident in gym class, she finds herself in heaven (or what she thinks is heaven), which happens to bear a striking resemblance to her hometown mall. In the tradition of It's a Wonderful Life and The Christmas Carol, Tessa starts reliving her life up until that moment. She sees some things she'd rather forget, learns some things about herself she'd rather not know, and ultimately must find the answer to one burning question--if only she knew what the question was.

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In this wise and intimate book, the artist and writer draws insights from her personal loss and also her training as an end-of-life doula to explore the complex, heart-rendering process of grief.

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Sharing her own story of loss and hope with the biblical story of Job, Nancy Guthrie takes her readers by the hand and guides them on a pathway through pain – straight to the heart of God.

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• Religious

Features the artwork of seven adults who experienced the sudden and unexpected death of a loved one or ones. A statement involving their loved one(s) death proceeds their artwork. Readers are then able to observe each person, through their artwork, gradually work through their grief over a period of weeks, months and years. They used their artwork as a way of exploring themselves - shaping, defining and eventually transcending their grief experience.

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Suggestions for coping with grief during the holidays.

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• Holidays

A continuation from Volume 1, Volume 2 offers interested guests the same straightforward “how-to” information for other religions and denominations in North America with smaller memberships.

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Provides insight into the process of grief and offers practical advice on how to be a comfort to others. With specific discussion on a variety of difficult experiences--ranging from illness to job loss to divorce to natural disasters--it also includes resources and advice from experts, professionals, and individuals whose words of wisdom can guide you through these difficult experiences.

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• Helping a Friend

Gives the reader what he or she needs at each step in the process of recovering from a loss.

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Explains why the loss of a parent is different from other loses, and using examples from her own experience, the author shows how it is possible to work through the grief.

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• Death of a Parent

Suggestions to help grieving people of all ages with the adjustments that must be made during the holidays and other significant days following the death of someone loved.

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• Holidays

Contains reminiscence recipes to recapture the sights, sounds and even smells that bring back the lesson and the laughter from the past. This self-help book preserves family histories and local culture in addition to guiding the reader to establish rituals for long-term bereavement benefits.

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A moving collection of funeral sermons preached by Roy C. Nilsen during his forty years of ordained ministry in the Lutheran Church.

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• Religious

A collection of quotations, poems, ancient proverbs, and stories from the likes of Winston Churchill, Madeleine L’Engle, and Jonathon Lazear himself. This book acts as a companion to your grief whenever and wherever you might need it.

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Anthology of writings about the process of mourning reveals the nature and progress of grief.

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Illuminating the impact of loss and grief on our psychological and emotional lives, this book provides vital information to ease painful transitions and facilitate healing. The author emphasizes that dealing with the death of a loved one involves more than picking up the pieces and moving on; rather, healing is an ongoing journey on which grief is a constant companion.

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An anthology of reading on the subject of death.

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• Historical

For women who have terminated a pregancy. Provides ways to promote inner healing.

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• Abortion

Looks at differences between men and women as they go through the grieving process. It is based on experience and observation by someone who has gone, and is still going, down the path of grief recovery.

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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.

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Nobel Prize laureate Toni Morrison brings us back and forth in time, as a narrative is assembled from the emotions, hopes, fears, and deep realities of black urban life.

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Defines the six reconciliation needs of mourning, followed by a series of short, reflective passages. A spiritual companion to mourners.

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A psychotherapist explains the grieving process and suggests sources of comfort and healing. Includes bibliographical references.

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This biography tells the story of Glenn (“Mac”) McDole, one of the eleven young men who escaped the Palawan Massacre of WWII.

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• WWII

Last things first tells the medical and legal story of advance directives, why it is important to document wishes for end-of-life care and how easy it is to create this simple – yet vital – record of your values and wishes for care.

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• End of Life Planning

…an invigorating new collection of warm, thoughtful poems from one of today's most popular poets, offering heartfelt comfort and realistic hope for those periods in our lives when we confront our own loneliness and anxiety.

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Twenty-something Holly has moved to Brighton to escape her grief. But now that she's here, sitting on a bench, listening to the rolling waves, how is she supposed to fill the void her boyfriend left when he died? She had thought she wanted to be on her own. Beautifully written, Let Me Be Like Water is a moving and powerful debut about loneliness, friendship, the extraordinariness hiding in everyday life.

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• Death of a Partner

The author offers the kind of compassion and insight that can only come from one who has lived through deep loss himself. Among other loses, he has had to face the death of a fiancée, a beloved grandmother, and a favorite college professor. From these experiences, he has drawn the kind of insight that will help others walk through the dark, seemingly endless times of grief. With honesty, passion, and perspective, he shares the little things that eased him forward and the words of comfort that carried him to a place of strength.

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The cultural expectation for sadness, loneliness, and despair when you feel relief, happiness, and even joy, only adds to the guilt and conflict felt by many "relieved grievers." Elison and McGonigle here share their own and others' stories, compassionate clinical analysis, and pragmatic counsel. Wise, compassionate, and groundbreaking, this book expands the traditional definition of grief, and, in so doing, generously validates the feelings that many of us feel obliged to hide.

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• Anticipatory / Before the Death

Shows how Scripture can answer our questions and concerns regarding the hereafter.

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• Religious

Real-life accounts of people who have experienced “clinical death” and been revived.

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• Near Death Experiences / Historical

The author replies to questions put to him by Norman French; one being, “Is there life after death?”

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• Historical

Guides readers through the practical and spiritual lessons we need to learn so that we can live life to its fullest in every moment.

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From Dante and Shakespeare to Emily Bronte, Raymond Carver, and Robert Graves, these sensitively chosen literary and biblical selections eloquently reflect the many and varied emotions which grief evokes.

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This book reaches into the human heart, encouraging the reader to approach painful, inner darkness as a help for rather than a hindrance to personal growth.

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• Religious

This balanced resource empowers mourners and grief counselors to turn grief into an experience to be learned from. Defining the varieties of heartache and its consequences, this effective guide explores how to inventory, understand, embrace, and reconcile one's accumulated sorrow through a five-phase "catch-up" mourning process.

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"It is my hope that this book will help you to manage wisely the emotions of your grief and will challenge you to confront creatively the death of your beloved."

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• Historical

Ways to handle the stages of grief, living alone, restructuring families, exploring children's reactions and rebuilding one's life after the death of someone loved.

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A valuable tool for those facing the most difficult time in their lives. Prompts us all to lend a helping hand and a sympathetic ear to an older person who is suffering after a painful loss.

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• Older Adults

A look at the many variables which affect an individual's grief. Variables such as culture, spirituality, class, gender and age can offer meanings by which we view death and understand loss and grief.

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Describes and analyzes the experience of "chronic" or persistent pain, perhaps the most mysterious of all forms of this perennial human problem.

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• Pain / Historical

Leads you through the process of coping with the loss of a parent-from understanding your immediate reactions to anticipating and recognizing the different stages of grief that follow. This guide also helps you nurture the relationship with a surviving parent.

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• Death of a Parent

Theresa Jackson's father died in 2007 and she has since put together useful clinical and healing resources for others in the same position, to help them recover. With an Masters degree in clinical research, Theresa has combined the latest theories and practices on loss, with effective meditations and exercises so that you can honor and remember your lost parent, all the while processing your grief in a healthy way. Sharing hers and others’ personal journeys of coming to terms with the loss of a parent, she hopes to help more bereaved adult children on their healing journeys.

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• Death of a Parent

"A thoughtful and moving framework for understanding the impact that early loss has on every aspect of adult growth and development."

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• Death of a Parent

Donna Ashworth's poetry reminds us that love and grief are intertwined, and life's true treasure lies in those we hold most dear.

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Lost Boy is really a story about being found. Greg opens a window on his life and shares about his uncertainty and disappointments, his healing and growth. He remembers the beginnings of a ministry that has touched millions of people and relives the ups, downs, sudden drops and blind corners – and he invites you along for the ride!

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• Religious

…a new philosophy of living whole when old.

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• Historical

Based on the deaths of both her children as well as her professional experiences as a grief counselor, Meg Woodson offers compassionate, practical advice to see you through these darkest, loneliest days.

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• Death of a Child

Techniques to help achieve a more fulfilling life when one is or has become single. From a Christian perspective.

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• Single Life / Religious

Two books in one. One half is for men who are grieving, with 12 helpful suggestions, each a chapter by itself. The other half is for those who want to understand and help men who are grieving, also in twelve short, helpful chapters.

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• Men and Grief / Helping a Friend

The author explores how we express grief and how it can be creatively managed. He offers ways of turning grief into a positive, creative, growth experience.

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• Historical

For those going through a divorce, this book offers the companionship of real people who have walked this lonesome road and survived, plus the knowledge and assurance that the reader can do it too.

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• Divorce

This book is a good resource for grieving men, as well as the professionals who help them. The author addresses a wide variety topics related to men and grief and the book is divided into three major sections: 1) Grief Responses and Characteristics, 2) The Special Challenges of Specific Losses, and 3) Working Through Your Grief.

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• Men and Grief / Professional

A fresh and irreverent examination into navigating grief and resilience in the age of social media, offering comfort and community for coping with the mess of loss through candid original essays from a variety of voices.

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Poems in remembrance of the author’s recently deceased beloved, whose presence and absence are recalled in somber lyrical rhythms and with an extraordinary range of expressions of love and sadness.

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Caring for yourself while you grieve. Deals with the physical aspects of grief – that one CAN do something about it.

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A penetrating lesson on how to face the final test in life. The author guides the reader through the five stages of grief and new levels of awareness.

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• Historical

Using thoughtful self-assessments and examples, this book persuades readers that grief must be reprocessed at every stage of life. First, it invites readers to look backward, examining their reactions and coping strategies at the time of their parent’s death. Moving into the present, it asks, what meaning do you make of your parent’s death as an adult?

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• Death of a Parent

Explores the four stages of losing a parent. Children often must endure the painful final stages of a parent’s life, the finality of their death, and their own grief while offering support for a surviving parent. Helps reader acknowledge and respect the differences in how different people process pain, explaining why all people do not feel the same after such a loss.

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• Death of a Parent

A message of consolation and solace from the author’s book A Guide to Confident Living.

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• Historical

Explores the effect of infertility on the couple’s marriage, on their relationships with their relatives and friends, and on their struggle to make sense out of their experience.

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• Infertility

Just as On Death and Dying taught us the five stages of death, Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler applies these stages to the grieving process and weaves together theory, inspiration, and practical advice, including sections on sadness, hauntings, dreams, isolation, and healing.

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This collection of quotations and reflections create a companion to grief.

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• Death of a Father

After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. Her friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are concrete steps people can take to recover and rebound from life-shattering experiences. We are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. It is a muscle that everyone can build.

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• Death of a Partner

A leading expert in the field of emotions research challenges the conventional model of the 'Five Stages of Grief' offering fascinating new insights on the bereavement process and the ways in which we find positive meaning in loss.

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Losses come and go, and sometimes, in their aftermath, it feels that everything else is gone. The McDonalds guide the reader through five processes in order to cope, transition and confront new transitions throughout one’s life.

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The handbook for how to respond in an appropriate way when someone dies – no matter what their faith or denomination. The book covers all major and many minor denominations and religious found in North America.

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A team of scholars surveys, assesses, and interprets the available material

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• Historical

Poetry that expresses the needs and feelings of children, the elderly, and those who are ill, dying or mourning a death.

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Everyone has unique goodbyes – times of losing someone or something that has given life meaning and value. With the touch of a poet, Joyce Rupp offers her wisdom on “these experiences of leaving behind and moving on, the stories of union and separation that are written in all our hearts.

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• Religious

The life story of the woman whose mission is to teach us how to confront our fear of death, so that we may know better how to live.

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• Historical

A sequel to Dr. Moody's book, Life After Life. He has now interviewed hundreds more men and women who were close to death or actually pronounced dead.

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• Near Death Experiences / Historical

Offers compassion, comfort, support and guidance during the lonely and painful times of grief. Over 300 entries, including quotes from people who have coped with their own losses, remind you that you are not alone and that you can and will survive.

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Provides practical advice on understanding and coping with grief during the many holidays and special days throughout the year. There are several interactive pages that allow the griever to create new holiday traditions.

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• Holidays

A guide for facing and understanding feelings and for thinking through new ways to cope with life in the after-math of loss. The 31 short, easy-to-read chapters compassionately address some of the most pressing questions and issues facing someone who has recently experienced a deep loss. Each chapter contains a brief reflection on an issue of loss, followed by carefully selected Scripture readings and a suggested prayer.

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• Religious

This book shows how God provides roses--special occasions, people, and memories--to help us through sorrow. Drawing from the loss of her children (crib death, pneumonia, drunk driver collision) Heavilin will help you understand the grieving process, support family members, give insight into sibling grief, and maintain your marriage during this difficult time.

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• Death of a Child

A book designed to help people who have experienced crushing losses survive and grow beyond the pain into the light of a new day. The author takes an in-depth look at grief, one of the most common and universal experiences of life. Clemons examines the situations that cause grief and describes the stages beyond grief. He concludes his discussion by explaining how we can help each other grieve creatively and begin to live after its wake.

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This book is a remarkable collection of quotations, personal reflections, and prayers intended for those who find themselves in their own “season of grief.” The insights and stories from Ann Dawson’s own experience after the death of her son are carefully placed alongside the comforting and often inspiring words of writers like C.S. Lewis and Kahlil Gibran.

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• Death of a Child

A tender story of living, loving and loss – speaking to the journey of our living and our dying; embracing the concepts of faith, grace and love along life’s path.

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If you have no idea how to help someone when they are grieving the death of a loved one, then this is the book for you. This book was written, based on the experiences of grieving individuals who have been there and were willing to share what were the best and worst things that someone did for them while they were in the midst of their grief.

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A powerful mix of information, personal reflections, and poetry. The author draws on clinical experience, research, and wisdom from hundreds of bereaved siblings to explain the five healing tasks specific to sibling grief.

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• Death of a Sibling

A book about people who have changed their lives, people who have learned to stop worrying and start living, and is filled with practical, specific examples that you can draw upon in your own life, whether divorced or widowed.

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• Single Life / Historical

These photographs were a common aspect of American culture, a part of the mourning and memorialization process.

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Written for the bereaved person following the funeral. The book will not eliminate grief, but…can assist in adjusting to a new way of life.

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• Historical

In the summer of 1991 I was a normal kid. I did normal things. I had friends and a mother who loved me. I was just like you. Until the day my life was stolen. For eighteen years I was a prisoner. I was an object for someone to use and abuse. For eighteen years I was not allowed to speak my own name. I became a mother and was forced to be a sister. For eighteen years I survived an impossible situation. On August 26, 2009, I took my name back. My name is Jaycee Lee Dugard. I don’t think of myself as a victim. I survived. A Stolen Life is my story – in my own words, in my own way, exactly as I remember it.

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• Abduction

Includes personal experiences with sibling grief, survey results from bereaved parents and bereaved siblings, how to bridge the communication gap between parents and children, and dealing with unanswered questions.

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• Death of a Sibling

Offers the grieving person the support and understanding needed to get through the difficult journey of grief. Written by Dr. Catherine Sanders, a therapist and researcher specializing in bereavement issues and one who has lived through the loss of close family members. Helps the griever to see that what they are feelings is part of a natural process of readjustment and renewal.

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Offers individuals and couples a comprehensive guide for coping with the many intense feelings – anger, depression, fear, envy – that often emerge from the crisis of infertility.

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• Infertility

Helps adults who have lost a brother or sister to realize that they are not alone in their struggle. It teaches them to understand the unique stages of their grieving process, offering practical and prescriptive advice for dealing with each stage.

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• Death of a Sibling

A book for both men and women about the masculine side of healing from loss. Swallowed by a Snake is meant to be a map and a guide through the experience of loss. It will help you move through the pain of loss and into a place of healing and transformation.

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• Men and grief

This is the story of Ruth. Of Ann. And of all of us who wonder what we’d say if we knew we didn’t have forever. The author writes about her experience losing a friend to breast cancer in a fictional way.

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• Breast Cancer

A fascinating new window into what happens in our brain when we grieve, providing a new paradigm for understanding, love, loss, and learning.

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In this lyrical handbook for mastering the art of grieving, noted psychotherapist Francis Weller reveals the new vitality we encounter when we welcome, rather than fear, the pain of loss

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This book shows that although grief and pain may be changing you now, they have the potential to transform your life in a healing way. Ellis uses many real-life narratives of loss from his therapy practice to help illustrate various ways of grieving, and shows how you can learn from the experience of loss and make your way towards a place of healing transitions and a renewed sense of life.

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Noted Christian author Carol Fitzpatrick describes not only the stages of grief but shares poignant examples from her own life and from the Bible on how to deal with this devastating emotion.

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• Religious

This book accompanies the reader through the deep and prolonged grief that follows the death of a loved one. Written to connect with you wherever you are in your grieving process, these meditations are appropriate regardless of when your loved one died.

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Explores many types of significant losses which cause grief: death, divorce, unemployment, etc. Coping strategies which help lessen pain and promote healing.

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• All Losses