Artful Grief

by Sharon Strouse

Artful Grief is a decade long study of loss by an art therapist, in the aftermath of her daughter's suicide. On October 11, 2001, Sharon received a phone call in the middle of the night from the New York City Police Department telling her that her seventeen year old daughter Kristin, had "fallen" from the roof of her college dormitory. So began her journey into the labyrinth of unspeakable grief. As the first year drew to a close she found no comfort in traditional therapy, and no solace in spoken or written words. In surrender to her inner art therapist's guidance, she began to create collages. She cut and tore images out of magazines and glued them on various size paper. The paper was a safe and sacred container, receptive to the fullness of emotion, story and paradox. Over time there was transformation and healing. Artful Grief A creative roadmap through violent dying and grief. A dose of "soul medicine" for survivors. A way to retrieve the pieces of a shattered life, with paper, scissors and glue. A resourceful tool for those suffering with complicated grief and/or PTSD. A place for the unspeakable to be seen and heard. A process to quiet the mind and open the heart. A visual experience of trauma images as illustrations of hope. A sample of prophetic dreams and meditations that are illuminating. A heartfelt sharing of "intimate secrets" for understanding and compassion. A surprising "grief gift" that is inspiring.

294 pages, Paperback

First published February 26, 2013

Reviews

[Meredith Jaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book would teach me about the topic of art therapy. I was mistaken. Instead, one reads learns of the painful loss of the author's daughter at 17 to suicide. While the family has gone on to establish a foundation to educate the public about college students at risk for suicide, the text elaborately details the author's (mother's) journey of self-awareness, coping, and grief through dozens of collages she created to process her emotions.

While I grew to understand the author's intent, it was challenging to follow the discourse of her selection of materials to convey her themes in art.

[Mary Kenyon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interested in incorporating more creativity into the grief retreats I plan and facilitate, this book was very enlightening. The author is very gifted in her beautiful use of language and storytelling.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching story of the author's experience coming to terms with the loss of her daughter to suicide. Like many, she found that the stages of grief we are taught didn't really apply as she had expected. She eloquently describes her experience of grief including all of the raw emotions that eventually led her to a place of hope. She gets that grief is a normal response to love and loss and used her art process to move through the integration of loss.

My only complaint about the book is that she seems to imply that the death of a child is worse than the death of another loved one. I wish we could let go of the hierarchy of loss that says one is worse than another. We can each only live in relationship to our own losses and by making one worse than the other we create shame where none needs to exist.

Tip: I read the Kindle version which does not include photographs of the author's collages even in black and white. I had to go to her website to see them. I cannot tell from looking at the Amazon preview if you are able to see the collages the author created in the physical book. She does a good job of describing them and provides artist’s statements for each so I did not feel lost, just would have preferred to see the images while I was reading about them.