And God Created Hope: Finding Your Way Through Grief with Lessons from Early Biblical Stories

I really enjoyed this book. I gained some very practical insights and tools to think differently about some losses I have personally dealt with and was encouraged by this book. Also had some practical tips in it I was able to use. This author is very practical and down to earth. Also just very wise in his writing. Grief and loss changes most of us and he deals with it head on. I passed the book on to my Mom and she also enjoyed reading it.

Mel Glazer brings together his knowledge of the grieving process with rabbi's understanding of Biblical text. The result is a refreshing view of how we confront loss. It happens all too often but many people ignore the need to work through all the emotions. Rabbi Glazer brings the important message: Hang in there; you feel bad now, but you can move toward a new fulfillment in life. I recommend this book for clergy, counselors, and people who are having trouble getting through tough times.

I read some passages from this book in a friend's newsletter and I knew right away I wanted more! The stories from the Bible were appropriate and appealing to me and I immediately felt a warm understanding and peace flowing from it. I am the kind of person who never really gets over a loss and I also grieve ahead of time for events that haven't actually happened, except in my mind. When this begins to happen I pick up the book and start reading "Grief without Death" and "Wandering and Healing". I never knew what to say to someone else who is grieving; favorite line in this book has to do with giving your verbal sympathy and then shutting up! What a relief that was to me that I didn't have to offer any of the usual lame comments that usually follow for lack of meaningful things to say. Last but not least, this Rabbi said he now understands loss of pets that are as dear to people as their loved ones; he now officiates pet funerals! This book has helped me overcome my FEAR of grieving because I now know how to do it and can help myself and others. Thank you Rabbi Glazer.

After my father died last summer, I think I handled my grief fairly well . . . yet that said, I just finished Rabbi Glazer's excellent book on the topic, AND GREATED HOPE and must admit that it gave me additional insight into the subject that I wished I had obtained previously. Rabbi Glazer helped me understand the process better . . . in particular, he did so by bringing in lessons from the Bible that helped drive many of his key points home . . . I further liked how he used examples form his own life--many of which I could relate to myself. Please don't be put off by the fact that the author of this book is a rabbi . . . his message is nondenominational and can be applied to many situations, aside from the loss of a loved one . . . for example, he also discusses loss with respect to relationships and friends. There were many valuable tidbits of information I gained from reading AND GOD CREATED HOPE . . . among them: * In January 1986 the Challenger space shuttle blew apart shortly after liftoff, killing all of the astronauts on board. After an exhaustive investigation of the accident, it was determined that after the explosion the astronauts were alive for five more minutes. Kenny wondered what they had been thinking about during those last minutes when they all knew they were going to die. He wrote a sermon about this and delivered it from the pulpit to his congregation on Yom Kippur in the fall of 1988. Rabbi Berger said in his sermon that people who know their death is imminent probably have three thoughts in common during their final moments, and each of the three begins with the phrase "if only." If only I had know when I said my last good-bye to the people I love that it was my last good-bye. If only I realized what I had while I had it. If only I had another chance, then I would do it better. * Your life may be short or long. Either way, when you die, by definition you will have accomplished your mission. When children die after long illnesses, we often hear their parents say that those children taught them love and compassion. Apparently, that was their mission. Once it was accomplished, they left. If you look at the entertainment business, the people who live the longest are comedians. Maybe their mission is to bring as much insight, joy, and laughter to people for as many years as possible, for as many years as their bodies can hold up. * In the same way a cast protects a broken leg, you can protect your broken heart while it heals. When you think about it, we're always grieving something or someone to one degree or another. We heal from one loss while we're still working on healing from another. We experience new losses before we've fully recovered from the old ones. If we're not in denial and are honest with ourselves, we probably spend more time mourning our disappointments and the loss of our illusions than anything, or anyone, else. It's best to take the time to properly note and mourn them. If we do not, we risk becom