The following books offer compassionate support and practical guidance for navigating loss, featuring therapeutic resources and toolkits written by mental health professionals. Each book provides reliable tools to help you process grief healthily.
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
In this handbook, Dr. Julie Smith, a clinical psychologist, shares invaluable skills for navigating life’s challenges. With straightforward advice and powerful coping techniques, this book empowers you to manage anxiety, build self-confidence, and overcome everyday issues.
Organised into bite-sized entries, you can quickly find the tools you need to foster resilience and enhance your mental health, making it a must-read for anyone seeking practical solutions for a fulfilling life.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ Incredibly Insightful!
It has helped me gain a deeper understanding of myself and provided effective tools for personal growth and mental well-being.
Grief Works
Grief Works is a compassionate guide designed for anyone navigating the complex journey of grief, whether facing the expected death of a parent or the sudden loss of a child. Julia Samuel introduces her eight practical pillars of strength, offering clear, actionable advice to help individuals support themselves and others during this challenging time.
Through personal stories of loss and accessible insights, Grief Works aims to empower readers to rebuild their lives while transforming the conversation around life, loss, and death.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ A straightforward book of insights
The diverse examples of how differently people can grieve, reassuring me I was not “wrong” as there was no “right”. Some of the observations tallied with my experience from other losses, my sister, my grandparents, friends who had lost parents etc.
Bearing the Unbearable
Bearing the Unbearable is a exploration of grief and love, highlighting their intertwined nature as essential aspects of the human experience.
Dr. Joanne Cacciatore, a bereavement educator guides readers through the unpredictable and often overwhelming journey of mourning. With compassionate insights and personal anecdotes, she reveals how grief can deepen our connections to one another and enhance our shared humanity.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ A sublime gift for anyone grieving
This book is sublime, overwhelming, ineffable. It’s my ‘go to’ guide. It’s consoling, it’s everything I feel, every day, every hour, as a bereaved parent.
The Wild Edge of Sorrow
In The Wild Edge of Sorrow, noted psychotherapist Francis Weller offers an exploration of grief as both a personal and communal experience.
This lyrical yet practical handbook delves into how societal tendencies to suppress sorrow hinder our ability to process loss. Weller argues that embracing our pain can lead to healing and deeper connections with ourselves.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ Impossible to overestimate the importance of this book
I found this book incredibly permission-giving and validating of my feelings.
It’s OK That You’re Not OK
“It’s OK That You’re Not OK” is a heartfelt and affirming guide by grief advocate and therapist Megan Devine. Published in 2017, the book confronts societal norms surrounding grief and presents a refreshing perspective on coping with loss.
Through poignant personal stories, practical advice, and empathetic insights, the book creates a nurturing environment for those navigating the challenging landscape of grief. It offers comfort to individuals feeling overwhelmed by their emotions and advocates for a more compassionate approach toward themselves and others in mourning.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ A wonderful therapy
I came upon this book during the days following the death of my wife after 56 years of marriage. I have been able to find nothing better to help get me out of that dark place which is the loss my of a spouse.
The Grief Recovery Handbook, 20th Anniversary Expanded Edition: The Action Program for Moving Beyond Death
Updated for its 20th anniversary, The Grief Recovery Handbook remains an essential resource for anyone navigating the complex journey of grief. This classic guide examines the profound effects of loss and offers actionable steps to complete the grieving process, promoting recovery and renewed happiness.
The authors draw on personal experiences and real-life stories to demonstrate that it is possible to regain energy and spontaneity after loss. This edition includes new material addressing challenges such as loss of faith, career setbacks, financial issues, health struggles, and the impact of growing up in dysfunctional environments. A must-have for anyone seeking to move beyond grief, this handbook provides a proven program to help individuals heal and thrive.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ Just what I needed
This book was a revelation to me, I have been dealing with some complicate grief issues over the past ten years which have affected my health. This book has started to help me make sense of things.
The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss
In The Grieving Brain, renowned neuroscientist and psychologist Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD, unveils ground-breaking insights into the impact of grief on our brains. Drawing on decades of research, she presents an accessible exploration of how love and loss shape our neurological responses.
O’Connor explains why we struggle to accept a loved one’s death, experience a whirlwind of emotions, and why the grieving process can feel prolonged and overwhelming. Through her innovative neuroimaging studies and poignant personal stories, this book demystifies grief, offering a new understanding of its complexities and providing practical guidance on how to navigate loss with compassion and resilience.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ Very helpful
I have not finished reading this yet, but for me it is being very helpful for me to understand how my brain is working now, after losing my partner whom I loved very deeply all the years she was with me.
The Other Side of Sadness
In The Other Side of Sadness, renowned psychologist George Bonanno challenges the conventional understanding of grief, moving beyond the traditional five stages to reveal the unexpected resilience we all possess in the face of loss. Bonanno emphasises that mourning is not a linear process; instead, our emotional responses—including anger, relief, and even joy—play a crucial role in how we cope with bereavement.
By recognising that grief can foster deeper connections and inspire new meanings in life, this thoroughly revised classic offers a refreshing perspective that empowers individuals to embrace their full range of emotions during difficult times. Bonanno’s insights encourage a more compassionate understanding of grieving, demonstrating that it is a unique journey that can lead to growth and healing.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ Deep, sensitive and thought provoking
Although I haven’t finished this book yet, so far I have found it deep, sensitive and thought provoking and it has put to bed some of those misconceptions that our culture has built about bereavement.
How to Go on Living When Someone You Love Dies
This comprehensive guide addresses both sudden and anticipated losses, providing insights into the grieving process and emphasising that there is no single “right” way to mourn.
Dr. Rando shares practical advice on communicating with children about death, coping with difficult times, and creating personal rituals. With a focus on self-care and accepting support from others, this invaluable resource helps readers understand their grief and find a path toward healing while honoring their cherished memories.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ A Must Read for Anyone Dealing with a Death of a Loved One
It really helps you deal with all of your emotions and the various stages of grief. The reader is given tools on how to cope with various types of losses and how to handle their own grief in their own way.
On Grief and Grieving
In On Death and Dying, Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross presents her ground-breaking exploration of the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
Rooted in her influential seminar on death, this work provides profound insights into how imminent death impacts patients, their families, and the professionals who care for them. Through poignant interviews and conversations, Dr. Kübler-Ross fosters a deeper understanding of the emotional landscape surrounding death, offering hope and guidance to those navigating the end of life. This updated edition includes a new introduction by Dr. Ira Byock, a respected palliative care physician.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ Understanding what is going on
I liked the way it was written bringing many examples through actual events to help you understand where you are in the grief process and where you are going.
Languages of Loss: A Psychotherapist’s Journey Through Grief
Languages of Loss offers an honest exploration of grief through the dual lens of a widow and a therapist. At just 49, psychotherapist Sasha Bates was thrust into widowhood after losing her husband, Bill. With raw candour, she shares the tumultuous emotions of her loss while integrating insights from psychotherapeutic research and established grief theories.
This poignant narrative not only confronts the often-taboo subjects of death and mourning but also seeks to find humour and light in the midst of darkness. Bates emphasises that grief is a uniquely personal journey, and through understanding its complexities, readers can feel less isolated and better equipped to navigate their own paths of healing.
Featured Amazon review…
★★★★★ Harrowing, generous, hopeful
I first read Languages of Loss around one year ago and I still think about it. Sasha’s gorgeously harrowing account of losing her husband, Bill, will stay with me for a long time.
Explore more of our book suggestions over on our Books for Grief Hub.