Grief Awareness Day: Some Recommended Reads for Grieving Hearts & Those Who Love Them

Yesterday was National Grief Awareness Day, and I didn’t want to let the week end without sharing this list of reads I’ve found helpful in my own grief journey (or have been recommended to me by trusted friends). I know so many friends who have lost parents in the last two years, and the list keeps growing. One thing I’ve found in talking with several of these friends, particularly those whose circumstances most closely mirrored my own loss, is that everyone’s grief is different… and everyone’s grief is normal. And I’ve personally seen that understanding this concept is one of the keys to moving forward through the grieving process, to relaxing in your grief – so to speak – and acknowledging it as a steady companion and not a controlling tyrant. (Important note: Moving forward is very different than moving on.) Sometimes it helps just to know that someone else is experiencing the same – or similar – emotions and effects that you are, that you aren’t crazy, and that you aren’t alone. And with that in mind, here are some reads I recommend for grieving hearts and those who love them:

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fiction that grapples well with grief

Sometimes story meets us where non-fiction can’t…

True North Springs series by Allie Pleiter

Facing the Dawn by Cynthia Ruchti

Life After by Katie Ganshert

Whose Waves These Are by Amanda Dykes

non-fiction that helps us live well with grief

The Tender Scar by Richard L. Mabry
NOTE: This book is helpful for any loss, not just the loss of a spouse.

Reflections for the Grieving Soul by Mike Nappa

Breathing Through Grief by Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young

Hope in the Mourning, compiled by Emily Curtis

The Empty Chair by Susan J. Zonnebelt-Smeenge & Robert C. DeVries

other helpful resources

I also can’t say enough good things about GriefShare. My mom and husband both attended a GriefShare group (after the loss of my father & father-in-law, respectively) and it made a huge difference in how they processed their grief. I am not a ‘talk about this in a group of people I don’t know’ person but the video sessions are full of such great information & I could see a marked difference in their lives from having gone through this course.

You can learn more about GriefShare and find a group in your area (or an online group!) HERE.

songs that have been meaningful to me

Natalie Grant – Held
Phil Wickham – Hymn of Heaven
Lydia Laird – Hallelujah Even Here

podcast

A Meaningful Grief – Living Through Loss With Purpose

I would not wish the journey of grief on anyone, but the reality of life means we all will eventually wrestle with the reality of death. Thanks be to God, however, that death and grief are not the end of the story! Each of these books exists because of the promise I talk about HERE. My prayer is that one or more of these recommended reads & resources will help you in some way on your own grief journey – or help you better understand someone you love who is grieving. ♥