Can You Just Sit with Me?: Healthy Grieving for the Losses of Life

by Natasha Smith

"Why are you still sad about that?" It takes time and space to grieve well, but often our culture doesn't afford us these things. Drawing from her own experience with grief, Natasha Smith invites us into a reflection on what it means to grieve and how to cling to hope even in our darkest moments. Instead of providing quick-fix solutions, this book creates space for us to take time to just sit and grieve, learn, and heal in healthy ways. In Can You Just Sit with Me? Smith provides personal stories, biblical reflections, relevant research, practical tools, and prayers that point us to God, who always sits with us in our grief. Whether we are grieving a loss or supporting a friend who is grieving, this book reminds us that every loss is worthy of the space and grace to grieve.

Genres: Grief, Christian, Nonfiction, Self Help, Mental Health, Psychology

192 pages, Paperback

Published September 26, 2023

Reviews

[Michele Morin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natasha Smith’s story of multiple, catastrophic losses helped to put me in a posture of careful listening. I turned page after page for the simple reason that I wondered how someone continues to breathe when life has dealt one colossal blow after another. Her heart’s cry became the title of her book: Can You Just Sit With Me?

Understanding her own emotions was step one on her giant learning curve—followed by an acceptance of the fact that grief is normal. Through Smith’s relatable stories, biblical wisdom, and solid research readers are encouraged to embark upon a healing journey. Each chapter ends with a focused grief exercise, scripture meditation, and a prayer prompt.

The sad truth is that in our “hurry up and get over it culture,” we’re all beginners in the grieving process. When the tendency is to numb out or stuff our grief into a “feelings to be dealt with later” file, Natasha Smith’s work points readers to a biblical permission slip for healthy grief over life’s losses.

Many thanks to InterVarsity Press for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course, offered freely and with honesty.

[Casey | Essentially Novel]

“𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘪𝘵. … 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵.”

Thank you IVPress for this gifted copy a while back, it is one I needed to read at just the right time. Given what I’ve experienced these last two years and the amount of grief I have been overwhelmed with, now was ideal.

Smith narrates the audiobook and her tender voice adds to the compassionate and comforting message of her words. She reminds us that we all have permission to grieve and honor the emotions we have (sadness, anger, shock), because if we don’t, then we cannot heal.

She exposes the reality that the way we grieve is influenced by our environment growing up (how did family, parents, etc deal with hardships and loss) and that culture has made tears and emotions an unwelcome aspect of our human design. She writes “𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺.” (Such as jobs giving either a limited amount of time off work for bereavement or some don’t offer any at all, and how it’s written in those job’s guidelines that you can take bereavement off for a few, certain circumstances). She goes on to say “𝘐𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦. … 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. … 𝘖𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧.”

To disregard, belittle, or rush through grieving is a disservice to ourselves and others, and too often the grieving process is a lonely one. She further reminds us that the source of our grief, as well as the loss itself, does not define us and we can, with time and grace, move forward in healing. Smith also reminds us that our tears are precious to God, and He doesn’t dismiss them (providing ample verses to support this) and that as humans who have finite knowledge and understanding, just because we have questions about the how’s and why’s associated with our grief doesn’t mean we don’t have faith. She states “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.” God always has opens arms, giving us space and time to let out what burdens our hearts, and that is something over the last several years I have truly appreciated that truth.

She doesn’t just validate and comfort the grieving individual, she also encourages those around them in how to best support them in these heavy seasons. Grief is such a wildly personal and vulnerable thing, taking on different shapes for everyone, but a few things remain the same: our grief is valid, we deserve the time and space to process and work through it at the best pace for ourselves, and we need trusted confidants who can support and encourage us through our grief without dictating a timeline or how we ought to handle it.

When Smith shares in chapter 4 (titled Does God Understand?) of losing her sister to cancer at the age of 32, that hit too close for me. I recently turned 32 and was diagnosed with cancer less than 2 years prior, and while at the moment I’m “no evidence of disease” for that particular cancer, we had found a precancerous growth of a different type only 7 months ago and as of completing the audiobook I got home <24 hours from a surgery to remove a growing tumor (that as of 2 years ago was benign). So know that some of her own life experiences which she shares could be triggering for some readers.

There’s a lot in this book that really everyone can benefit from, regardless of the status of their spiritual life. Grief, loss, sorrow - they don’t discriminate; they are unfortunately a very real part of our imperfect world and lives. If you are facing heavy grief, know someone who is, or simply want to be more well-rounded in terms of this topic, I highly suggest you pick it up.

[Amanda E. (aebooksandwords) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a rare thing to find someone who will take enough time to simply sit with you and listen. Because of this, we often refrain from sharing the hardest parts of our days, our stories, our trials. We want someone to give their full attention, but that doesn’t happen in most passing moments of conversation.

“Can You Just Sit With Me?” shares the story of author Natasha Smith’s own need for someone to just be there and listen as she faced grief and loss. She extends an invitation to us in our own grief to discover our ever present God is always there with us. She also invites those who want to love those who are grieving to learn from what she shares in the book.

Each chapter shares some of the author’s story and lots of helpful thoughts about grief from both the Bible and experts on the subject. At the end of each chapter is a helpful exercise to use for dealing with grief.

My favorite thing about this book was the author’s conversational, down-to-earth writing style. It felt like sitting with a close friend having meaningful, healing conversation.

Some highlights:

“If in grief you and I can somehow remember that God is love, it can change the perspective about how you may feel about him during the grief process. Because God is love, everything that he does is motivated by love.”

“All humans share a core need to be understood. We want someone—at minimum—to acknowledge the pain. God understands far more than we can understand about what we go through.”

Thank you to IVP for gifting me a copy of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.

[Emily Shanahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can You Just Sit With Me? Book Review

Can You Just Sit With Me? by Natasha Smith
A Book Review by Emily Shanahan
Natasha Smith is a self-described “grief advocate, author, speaker, podcaster, and content creative.” Please, feel free to meet Tasha at her website, listen to her podcast, and follow her on Instagram and Facebook. On August 15, 2023, I woke up to an email from Natasha inviting me to join her launch team for Can You Just Sit With Me? Thank you, Natasha, for the invite as I feel as though we have become friends with each other through this launch team.
Little did I know (but Jesus knew!) when I was accepted to this launch team that I would send my thirteen-year-old Shih-Tzu, Willie Shanahan, home to Jesus due to early onset dementia, cardiac issues, and allergies. This book, beautifully written by Natasha, was such a gift from Jesus as I mourned the loss of my little buddy.
I truly admire Natasha’s spiritual maturity, bravery, honesty, and vulnerability anchored in Christ’s strength. She opens this book by sharing four very personal and intimate losses in her life as a launching point to discussing Biblical, healthy grieving. The two losses described in the book which stood out to me the most were the loss of Natasha’s father, due to cancer, and her nephew, due to an unexpected, sudden tragedy. My heart ached with Natasha when she described the sudden pit in her stomach when informed by a nurse that her father had passed peacefully. My eyes welled with tears when Natasha described with aching detail the shock that struck when her nephew was suddenly taken from them.
The first point in Natasha’s book that stood out to me was that grief is an uncomfortable experience that American culture likes to minimize and hurry past. Natasha did not encourage her readers to wallow in their grief but rather to acknowledge the full depth and extent of their loss, giving themselves the needed time and resources to grieve. Natasha pointed out that grief is cyclical and that some grieving periods are shorter or longer than others. Natasha also explained that grief is not only limited to the loss of a life. Grief can also be extended to the loss of relationship, the loss of a defining attribute in someone’s life where value was derived from, such as a job, or the loss of an expectation (expecting a typically developed child and instead a differently enabled little one is born).
One of the most helpful features for me about this book was that each chapter ends with a “Grief Exercise.” The Grief Exercise which was most challenging to me was the opportunity to write a lament in the style of a biblical lament in order to help you process, mourn, and talk about your grief with God. In verse style, I was able to tell Jesus what I loved the most about Willie, what I missed the most about him, ending with how I felt about losing Willie and how that loss impacted my life. As simple as it may sound, the process of sharing with the Lord my lament for Willie started to blunt the sharp edge of his loss and empowered me to process it better.
One thought I want to leave you with is all of Natasha Smith’s main points are undergirded by Scripture, as her book promoted healthy, biblical grieving. If you want to gain more tools in your grieving process, I recommend you order this book by clicking on this link.
I was provided with an advance copy of Can You Just Sit With Me? to review as part of a launch team. My opinions are my own and I was not financially compensated in any way.

***This review was lovingly typed by Noelle Piovesan and Abby Krom.
**** This book review is lovingly dedicated to Willie Shanahan, August 2, 2010-August 30, 2023). Willie, you were the best bucket boy and bedtime buddy that Sissy ever had! I can see you cuddling on Jesus’ lap right now. I love and miss you so much.

[Lori Jorgensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, I wrote this book so that you and those who may be in a season of loss and grief don't have to feel so alone. To help grieving and hurting hearts know that there is hope even amid our pain. There is light in the darkness and there is hope in Jesus.

[Mimi · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. I greatly appreciate the author sharing her stories of grief, and I found healing at points throughout the book. However, there was a lot of mental gymnastics. This book doesn’t align with how I relate to God, but it could be a great book for people with more mainstream evangelical theology.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: An extended reflection for Christians permitting ourselves and others to grieve well and how we may accompany those who are grieving.

Can you just sit with me? Have you ever felt like that in a time of pain, grief, or loss? You don’t want to be asked questions, or to be fixed, or told to “get over it,” or be counselled. You just want a friend or friends who will be there with silence, a listening ear, a caring hug, and to hand you another tissue when you need it.

The title captures both the longing of the grieving and the point of this book so well. Natasha Smith has known more grief than one would think one could bear in a lifetime. It has left her with lots of questions, including questions for God. But one thing she knows. Our culture isn’t very good at giving people the space to grieve and the time to heal. Out of her own experience she helps others who are grieving to understand that what they feel is normal. And she helps those who want to care to know how to sit with the grieving.

She discusses the nature of grief and particularly offers a helpful chart contrasting myths versus facts about grief. The first of these is that the myth is that everyone grieves in stages when the fact is that grief doesn’t follow the rules. Another resource in this discussion that is powerful is Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D’s “Mourner’s Bill of Rights” which begins, “You have the right to experience your unique grief” and enumerates nine more “rights.”

In successive chapters she discusses the truth that God understands, the many questions loss and grief raises and the freedom to confess these to God, our struggles with unanswered prayers, and our struggle to finds meaning. In discussing the dual process of loss- and restoration-orientation in grieving, Smith proposes that we can take a break from loss to long for home, to think about rebuilding. She discusses the invisible griefs, the losses that are not always recognized as losses to grieve. Grief is also revealing–it reveals what is true of us and our identity in God. Smith uses an “I am…” exercise to help us identify the things we are coming to understand both about ourselves and who we are in Christ. She talks about how we may both love Jesus and grieve in her “Both/And Jesus” chapter. She observes Jesus own path of grief and what we may learn about the healing of grief from him. In her concluding chapter “As We Sit,” she ties it all together. She offers a helpful series of statements we can share with others in our grief.

Each chapter combines Smith’s personal stories, biblical principles centering on Jesus, and a grief exercise in each chapter. We are invited to retell our grief story, to recollect the names of God, to confess our questions, to pray breath prayers, to consider what grief does in us, to write a lament, to journal and pray our invisible griefs, and more.

The book reads like a conversation–we are invited to “feel all the feels.” Smith both helps us understand the grief journey and unabashedly speaks of how God meets us in it–not to fix it or to tell us to get over it, but to accompany us, to quietly minister to us, to heal us, and to change us. This understanding of grief and how God meets us is also important for those who care for those who grieve. We can just sit with the grieving, both because grief doesn’t follow rules, and God alone heals. We so want to do more, and yet that is not for us. We sit, and listen, and weep with, and love and pray. And with God, that is enough.

________________________________

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this beautifully written book, Natasha Smith shares about her own struggles with grief and loss, and she shares wisdom for people walking through similar situations. Each chapter begins with a personal story, and then Smith summarizes insights from psychological counseling and the Bible, helping her readers better understand grief and develop healthy coping skills. She explores how the Bible speaks into hard situations, how it helps us understand the state of the world, and how we can take comfort in God's love for us, sympathy for us, and presence with us in the midst of our pain. Each chapter concludes with a suggested grief exercise, a Bible verse, and an example prayer.

Can You Just Sit with Me?: Healthy Grieving for the Losses of Life will encourage Christians in a variety of different hard situations. Most of Smith's examples involve sickness and death among family members, but she also writes about other types of grief, including child loss, giving up a child for adoption, losing a sense of one's identity during a major life transition, and experiencing collective grief over racial injustice and the pandemic. She writes with deep compassion for all of her readers, and she acknowledges multiple forms of "disenfranchised grief," making space for different types of losses that our culture doesn't have grief rituals for or even take seriously. Smith pushes back against harmful ideas in society and within Christian subcultures, helping people process their losses without feeling guilty for their continued suffering or feeling like their losses don't count in comparison to someone else's.

Can You Just Sit with Me? is full of wisdom and compassion. Smith's honesty about her own emotional struggles will help other people feel seen, and in addition to validating where people are, she helps them look ahead to ways that they might truly experience healing. I particularly appreciated her insight that even though people often say "grief is love," you don't have to live in wrenching pain and chaos forever to hold onto love and cherish what is good. Overall, I found this book extremely wise and helpful, and I appreciate Smith's vulnerability and her skill in integrating biblical wisdom and secular counseling resources to help people better understand and live with loss and emotional pain. I would recommend this book to any Christian processing loss, and to loved ones and church leaders who want to better care for the bereaved.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Josh Olds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Job’s friends get a bad rap. Sure, they offer bad advice—but it was sincere, popular, and compassionate advice. And before they do all of that? They come and simply sit with him in the literal dump and offer him the peace of their presence. In Can You Just Sit with Me? Natasha Smith invites readers into her personal and professional life to offer her perspective on what healthy grief looks like and comes alongside those hurting to encourage them that sitting in grief is not the same as wallowing in it.

Grief is an uncomfortable experience. American Christianity is built on a theology of victory, where grief is ignored or minimized in the fear that it somehow lessens God’s victory through Jesus. And despite that, grief is universal. We feel grief during expected losses such as the death of elderly parents or grandparents, the loss of a home or a job due to a planned move, the loss of a stage of life because you have moved into another one. We feel grief during unexpected losses as well. And while everyone usually allows a modicum of time for the latter, we often tend to forget the former. One thing that Can You Just Sit with Me? did was validate the feelings of grief and loss that comes with planned or expected loss or change and acknowledge that you can feel grief even as move onto something better.

One of the most helpful aspects of the book is that each chapter ends in a “grief exercise” intended to help the reader really understand the process of lament and feel its value. Grief isn’t just something to understand theoretically, it’s something to participate in—something that the body must do. Can You Just Sit with Me? helps readers embody grief, which leads to more healthy processing of it.

I think we have a bad relationship to grief and sadness. It begins in childhood. “Nobody likes a crying boy” is a phrase I heard from a parent directed at their child at the park the other day. We fail to understand the sadness or emotions of children. It doesn’t seem rational to us however important it seems to them. As a parent, I’ve found that trying to explain to my child why their grief is not rational is rarely helpful. Instead, I just sit and hold them. Can You Just Sit with Me? That principle applies to adults as well. We need safe places to truly feel our grief and work it out. Natasha Smith is able to show us those places and give us the tool to do so.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Can You Just Sit with Me?" by Natasha Smith is a significant exploration of grief that offers support to those struggling with loss. Natasha Smith's book is a powerful reminder that healing requires time and space and that it's appropriate to recognize loss in a world that rushes past it.

Smith's exploration of spiritual amnesia has a powerful impact, reminding readers of the tendency to forget faith's strength in times of suffering. Smith expertly incorporates personal anecdotes with biblical insights, urging readers to be vulnerable and real.

The book is deepened by Jesus' Gethsemane anguish. Smith effectively weaves similarities between human loss and the Jesus' supernatural grief at Gethsemane, connecting the reader's agony to the awareness that even the Son of God felt grief. This relationship gives hope and comfort in despair.

Smith's book also explores disenfranchised mourning, particularly in Jocebed's experience.

The book's strength is its refusal to embrace fast fixes. Instead, Natasha Smith creates a sacred space for readers to grieve, learn, and heal. Personal tales, pertinent research, practical techniques, and prayers make the book more than just guidance—it becomes a companion, source of strength, and path to God, who sits with us in our pain.

"Can You Just Sit with Me?" is a masterwork that honors grief and gives every loss its due.

[Caleb Fry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting all the way back in her Sophomore year in college, Natasha has dealt with more difficult stories of loss and grief than most people will ever experience. From late term miscarriages to family members being shot and killed, Natasha has experienced pain that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Yet, in her pain, she decided not to just stay there, but develop tools and resources to aid those in grief.

Natasha is somebody that will “sit with [you] just for a little while in the ashes,” as she beautifully writes in her book. Greater than a tool, you can hear Natasha’s heartbeat for those going through similar situations that she faced. She asks “Can you just sit with me?” If you’re having trouble moving on from your situation of grief simply because you haven’t had anybody to process with, let this book, through Natasha’s authorship, be your friend that sits with you in the middle of your pain, and shows you that it’s okay to feel the way you do. She’s not here to fix you, just to sit with you.

[Liz Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Can You Just Sit With Me?” by Natasha Smith is a beautiful companion to every heart who has known grief.

Smith tenderly and compassionately creates space for all of our grief and loss stories to be seen. She vulnerably shares about the depths of grief she has experienced by opening her heart’s pages for us to read and relate to. She compassionately creates space for our processing while encouraging us to look to the One True Light who we can always rely on in our darkest seasons.

This book is prayerful and practical. It has spiritual and scientific elements. It has powerful and profound storytelling with grief exercises and guidance in every chapter.

Through “Can You Just Sit With Me?”, Tasha is giving readers a safe space to grieve and leading us all to the Ultimate Comforter who will sit with us in whatever way we need.

This is a beautiful book and an encouragement to the soul. It is a tender friend sitting with us when we need it most. I cannot recommend it enough.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audio
Excellent content. The author is a trustworthy guide through the peaks and valleys of grief; my goodness has she been through a lot.
I generally love audiobooks read by the author, but in this case I think reading with my eyes would’ve been the better reading experience. I suspect production got hung up on diction, on slow and perfect enunciation, which frankly left this book lacking the conversational quality that makes audiobooks read by the author so great. Also, for the weightiness of the subject matter, the production of the audiobook didn’t include any inflection I’d expect when telling one’s own story to an audience. I thought I’d hear a teariness, a change in voice when telling the stories of pain and loss. It would’ve added depth and nuance to the reading experience. It wasn’t there.
So while I was not at all disappointed in the book, I feel let down by the audio version. That is an unusual distinction for me.

[Natasha Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the author, a bereaved mother, daughter, sibling, aunt, granddaughter, and more, I'm partial. However, I know this resource has helped so many, and I have personally walked with so many in their grief utilizing my book Can You Just Sit With Me. With personal stories, relevant research, and biblical insight, it provides a well-roundedness to how we cope and navigate grief. The grief exercises and prayers at the end of each chapter are practical tools for grievers to use in daily life. I've loved sharing this resource and hope you find it helpful and hopeful.

[Barrie L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tasha's book on grief takes the reader on a profound and personal journey on how to navigate grief in a Biblically-based, authentic manner. Her personal experiences resonate with many of us who have struggled with our own grief. Each chapter ends with a thoughtful exercise and poignant prayer ... both healing the reader and gently guiding us on how to draw ever closer to God. What an amazing gift Tasha has given us.

[Lindsay Broome · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shines at the end of each chapter with the action steps/ meditative points that are listed. lots of great, simple ideas to get through the mental and spiritual struggles while grieving. The author tells many grief stories, I'm assuming to set herself up as an expert, which is fine. Just be warned that they could be triggering and heavy for someone already grieving, I wish there were a few less after the opening chapters.

[Sydnei Kaplan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When we are navigating a grief journey, one of the best things we can receive is the comfort of someone willing to sit with us. To share their presence and love with no expectations. This beautiful book from my friend Natasha offers this kind of comfort, and in sharing her stories, she helps us to feel seen and less alone. Every loss is worthy of the space and grace to grieve.

[Jacqulynn Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depending on where you are on your grief journey, this is a really helpful book.

[Sarah Poling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many practical strategies to combat grief. And many types of grief addressed. Very biblically informed connections. Audio version was read by author.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn to this book because my husband and I are older so his future passing is on my mind. I believe this book can help those grieving as well as friends of those who are grieving.

A quote that stood out to me: We can conclude we have permission to grieve because Jesus did. We know from Scripture that Jesus wept (see John 11:35). Tears are important to God. They tell stories we can’t imagine.

Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher. This in no way affects my review. All thoughts are my own.