Good Grief: Healing Through the Shadow of Loss [With CD]

Having lost my only child four years ago, I have read many books on grief. This one is by far the best! I found myself highlighting most of the pages and have just bought a second copy!My advise: Buy This One!

This book was remarkable in that, even just holding it and looking at the simple cover offered me some peace in a time of shear agony. Obviously, a lot of love went into it. The words are simple and beautiful AND offer great depth. So much soulful contemplation and growth can be derived from reading this book while grieving. The entire energy of the book is in concert with the healing process. I've recommended this book to many friends who have lost someone close to them and will many times again, God willing.

This book is different from other grief books in that the author strongly believes we all know (or can figure out) how to grieve. The author's mission is to help us understand why we feel the way we do or to gently identify feelings, though they may never be understood, that are just a healthy aspect of grieving.This book also illuminates much Jewish wisdom on grieving. Just like that old commercial that you don't have to be Jewish to enjoy a certain rye bread, you don't have to be Jewish to appreciate the Jewish wisdom that the author discusses.My only caution about the book is that sometimes words fail the author and she falls into "new-ageyness" talk. However, the book is so sweet that you have to forgive the author for her efforts to say the practically unsayable.To sum it up, to me a book like this is successful if it can provide you with one or a couple of deep insights (epiphanies?). By all means, this books succeeds wonderfully.

I read this book three months after my mother passed away after a lengthy illness. I would not have been open to it sooner, as the concepts Coryell presents are challenging and take energy to consider. I was surprised to find, as I had spent years of education becoming a psychologist, that this book presented concepts on grief and loss to which I had never been exposed. Coryell encourages the reader to view loss (all loss, not just death) as a central part of life that offers us the opportunity for growth and wisdom if we can learn to accept, rather than fight it. She draws heavily from Buddhist teachings, which emphasize the importance of embracing our pain and learning to accept life on life's terms. Through the use of breathing, rituals of remembrance, and techniques to reshape thought processes, Coryell's gentle and encouraging book has given me a new perspective on loss. She writes in a beautiful, philosophical style that is a refreshing and helpful contrast to some of the "hand books" on surviving grief I have read. I found myself underlining her nuggets of wisdom throughout the book, and immediately after finishing it, I sent three copies to send to the rest of my family members. It's the type of book I will keep nearby for ready reference when I need centering and perspective.

After 9 months 11 days as caregiver, I lost my best friend and the love of my life. In the seven months since, it has been difficult to find a reason to live, much less be happy, again. I have read many books on how to deal with grief, but none have touched me as this one. I am believing in my own life again. Deborah Coryell has a way with words like no one else. I will always be grateful to her for this book and for her special ability to touch my own soul. She has given me back my husband, and shown me the way to my own path.