Grief & Loss
Grieving loss consciously is at the center of the spiritual path. It is soul work — healthy, cleansing, and intelligent. The process allows us to metabolize the pain of loss and continue living. It lets us open to love. By honoring what has passed away, we are free to embrace the life that is here. Yet grief is so deeply painful, so hard to endure. I offer the following links as a starting place for your own journey.
Books
The Wild Edge of Sorrow,
The Wild Edge of Sorrow explains that grief has always been communal and illustrates how we need the healing touch of others, an atmosphere of compassion, and the comfort of ritual in order to fully metabolize our grief. Weller describes how we often hide our pain from the world, wrapping it in a secret mantle of shame. This causes sorrow to linger unexpressed in our bodies, weighing us down and pulling us into the territory of depression and death. We have come to fear grief and feel too alone to face an encounter with the powerful energies of sorrow.
Opening to Grief: Finding Your Way from Loss to Peace,
With the demeanor and tone of a loving friend, the book rebuts a prevailing idea that grief moves in stages, and instead offers intimacy and an invitation to turn toward and be with all the emotions and sensations that arise, however long grieving takes and in whatever ways are most healing for you. If you open to any page, you’ll enter the book’s uplifting flow and know that you’re not alone on your journey to wholeness.
Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief,
Joanne Cacciatore, wrote this beautiful memoir after her daughter’s death. She debunks many common myths that may obstruct our grief and shame our own process. Organized into 52 short chapters, she offers the possibility that over time grief will open our hearts and bring us into deeper connection and compassion with ourselves and others. The book is filled with stories and is a wonderful and comforting companion to those who have lost someone they love.
Poems
For Grief,
We Remember Them,
Death of a Dog,
Guest House,
Talking to Grief,
The Long Boat,
Websites
Sesame Street’s 'When Families Grieve'
Educational content and interactive activities to help support children through their grief.
What's Your Grief
This website is an abundantly rich resource both for connecting with people who are grieving, as well as finding articles on just about every aspect of grief. The articles and blogs are thoughtful, comprehensive, and well-written.
Modern Loss
This website was started by two young women who lost their parents. The website offers essays from people who have experienced all types of losses – for example a partner, sibling, or parent etc. The site is well organized, so it is easy to locate the support you need. There are links to wonderful articles, as well as ways to connect with others who have suffered losses similar to your own.
Refuge in Grief
Megan Devine, the creator of RefugeInGrief.com, is a psychotherapist, writer, grief advocate, & communication expert dedicated to helping you live through things you never thought you’d face. She has created an online community and resources that help people survive some of the hardest experiences of their lives. Through her book, podcasts, and online courses, she helps people learn the skills they need to love themselves – and each other – better.