Reading about grief can help you to understand what you are going through and insure that you are not alone. It can also help you to develop ways to take care of yourself as you navigate this powerful experience. There have been a vast array of books written on the subject. We encourage you to explore them and find the ones that speak to you. Here is a list to start with. Some can be found on audio tape as well. Many families have reported them to be helpful.


General Grief

When Bad Things Happen to Good People, by Harold S. Kushner

Thoughts for the Lonely Nights, by Doug Manning

Seven Choices, by Elizabeth Harper Neeld, Ph.D.

The Soul in Grief, by Robert Romanyshyn

Tear Soup, by Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen

A Time To Grieve, by Carol Staudacher.

Good Grief, by Granger E. Westberg.


Grief and Spirituality

If God Is So Good, Why Do I Hurt So Bad?, by David Biebel.

Tracks of a Fellow Struggler, by John Claypool.

Living with Loss, Healing with Hope: A Jewish Perspective, by Rabbi Dr. Earl Grollman

Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love: Daily Meditations, Raymond R. Mitsch and Lynn Brookside.

A Grace Disguised, by Gerald Sittser.


Loss of a Spouse

Widowed, by Dr. Joyce Brothers

Finding Your Way After Your Spouse Dies, by Marta Felber


Loss of a Child

Empty Cradle, Broken Heart, by Deborah L. Davis, Ph.D.

The Disappearance, by Genevieve Jurgensen.

A Broken Heart Still Beats, by Anne McCracken and Mary Semel.

Finding Hope When a Child Dies, by Sukie Miller, Ph.D.

The Worst Loss, by Barbara D. Rosof

The Bereaved Parent, by Harriet Sarnoff Schiff.

Empty Arms: Hope and Support for Those Who Have Suffered a Miscarriage, Stillborn or Tubal Pregnancy, by Pamela W. Vredvelt


Loss of a Parent

Midlife Orphan, by Jane Brooks

Motherless Daughters, by Hope Edelman

Finding Your Way After Your Parent Dies, by Richard Gilbert


Friends Helping Friends

The Last Thing We Talk About, by Joseph Bayly

When Your Friend Is Grieving, by Paula D'Arcy

Don't Ask for the Dead Man's Golf Clubs, by Lynn Kelly

Healing Conversations: What to Say When You Don't Know What to Say, by Nance Gullmartin


Men and Grief

Swallowed by a Snake, by Thomas R. Golden

Men's Secret Wars, by Patrick A. Means


Dealing with Suicide

My Son…My Son: A Guide to Healing After a Suicide in the Family, by Iris Bolton and Curtis Mitchell

The Empty Chair, by Beryl Glover

Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide, by Kay Redfield Jamison


Helping Children with Grief

Talking About Death, by Earl Grollman

Part of Me Died, Too, Virginia Lynn Fry, Dutton Children's Books, New York, 1995.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen, by Adele Faber & Mazlish

Parenting By Heart, by Ron Taffel

Raising Self-Reliant Children In a Self-Indulgent World, by Jane Nelsen


Books for Children and Teenagers

The Hurt, by Teddi Doleski

The Next Place, by Hanson

Daddy's Chair, by Sandy Lanton

The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, by Buscaglia, Leo, PhD

Why Do People Die, by Cynthia MacGregor

Someone Special Died, by Joan Singleton Prestine

What's Heaven, by Maria Shriver

Fire in My Heart, Ice In My Veins, by Enid Traisman and Ben Sieff