What do you think?
Rate this book
Honoring Grief: Creating a Space to Let Yourself Heal
If you know someone who has suffered loss and is experiencing grief, simply sending a card or flowers may seem insufficient. Many people are unsure how to comfort a friend or loved-one in times of loss. This special book is filled with inspirational wisdom, practical self-help for healing, and makes a meaningful and comforting gift. Written by psychotherapist and grief expert Alexandra Kennedy, Honoring Grief provides powerful and compassionate advice for dealing with loss. Compatible with any religious or spiritual orientation, this book aims to help readers create a sanctuary―a special space where they are free to work through the difficult emotions that accompany grief. The act of grieving can be overwhelming. That’s why the self-help tips in this book are simple, brief, and effective―ideal for anyone suffering the emotionally and physically exhausting effects of grief.
152 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2014
16 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 19, 2015
A very good book. Very well thought out and most helpful guide. The idea of a sanctuary is tremendously important and beautiful. When those of us that have suffered and don't know where to turn this book is a comfort and a much needed assistance in the hard and difficult road ahead. Recommended without a doubt for those in a loss or about to undergo a loss.
July 4, 2019
This was a nice little book and one of the better books on grief that I've read lately. The pages are filled with short paragraphs (one on each page) which made for easier reading. I particularly found the section on writing down dreams and writing letters to the person that you've lost helpful. The book as a whole wasn't really what I was expecting but I got a few things out of it and that is the point of books like this. I noticed that there are other books on grief by the same publisher so I'm going to check those out as well.
October 12, 2017
Grief touches us all. Honoring Grief: Creating a Space to Let Yourself Heal by Alexandra Kennedy with foreword by Stephen Levine is a timely, helpful and much-needed book. Suffering loss or grieving over the loss of a loved one is an intimately private and personal affair. It is not an easy task for others to be at hand to offer words of comfort. Sometimes, words of comfort and encouragement can sound very hollow, and the best intention of others can be misconstrued as intrusion and can create misunderstanding.
In Honoring Grief: Creating a Space to Let Yourself Heal, psychotherapist and grief expert Alexandra Kennedy suggestions and tips for healing oneself and offer practical ways through which we can experience a new life. This path-breaking book contains four profoundly wise and helpful parts: 1. The Nature of Grief: What We Can Expect 2. Creating a Sanctuary for Grieving 3. Healing Old Hurts, Saying Good-bye, Expressing Love 4. Re-creating Our Lives After Loss.
Sometime, somewhere along the journey of life grief will touch us all. When that time comes, this book will help us prepare for it. Not to ride roughshod over it but to grieve, and grieve in the way grief demands. Author Alexandra Kennedy writes, “A heart transformed by grief is capable of giving and receiving genuine love and of feeling compassion for our fellow human beings.”
In Honoring Grief: Creating a Space to Let Yourself Heal, psychotherapist and grief expert Alexandra Kennedy suggestions and tips for healing oneself and offer practical ways through which we can experience a new life. This path-breaking book contains four profoundly wise and helpful parts: 1. The Nature of Grief: What We Can Expect 2. Creating a Sanctuary for Grieving 3. Healing Old Hurts, Saying Good-bye, Expressing Love 4. Re-creating Our Lives After Loss.
Sometime, somewhere along the journey of life grief will touch us all. When that time comes, this book will help us prepare for it. Not to ride roughshod over it but to grieve, and grieve in the way grief demands. Author Alexandra Kennedy writes, “A heart transformed by grief is capable of giving and receiving genuine love and of feeling compassion for our fellow human beings.”
November 13, 2018
I find it hard when dealing with grief or sadness to objectively assess anything, but the short bits of text on each page of this book help. The concept of using a physical and imagined sanctuary/container time for processing are sound psychological and spiritual advice. Not much I haven't read before, but well laid out and useful. It is useful that there is a section on more than physical death grief, but also expands to other losses.
January 3, 2024
Now I have to ask my brother in law to read it.
I liked that it wasn't presented like a novel. I liked that it was short, easy to read , to the point and it helped. I have triggers...places, songs, smells.
I'm not rushing this grief process( December 20) but in turn I'm not letting it consume my life. Grief is a journey and each path is different for everyone. I miss my mum in law dearly but she is in a better place and if I focus on that....it gets me through the days.
I liked that it wasn't presented like a novel. I liked that it was short, easy to read , to the point and it helped. I have triggers...places, songs, smells.
I'm not rushing this grief process( December 20) but in turn I'm not letting it consume my life. Grief is a journey and each path is different for everyone. I miss my mum in law dearly but she is in a better place and if I focus on that....it gets me through the days.
December 29, 2021
Still need my half stars. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this book. I just don’t want to hear most of what’s said about grief. I hate everything and everyone. 🙃 I do like that it’s super short snippets and not many many words on a page.
October 7, 2024
Review all the losses in your life and the feelings surrounding them
How did your parents and other family members handle these losses?
Do not think your way out of grief, but allow yourself as much time as you may need.
Scheduling a time and place to handle grief can help.
How did your parents and other family members handle these losses?
Do not think your way out of grief, but allow yourself as much time as you may need.
Scheduling a time and place to handle grief can help.
June 26, 2023
Felt like therapy, and easy to read loved this one.
November 26, 2014
I received a free digital ARC for review.
This books is perfect.
As the author points on early in the book, when you're experiencing grief, you may turn to books but find reading to be too labor intensive. This book finds the perfect middle ground. It SAYS it's 152 pages, but it must be in a different format for print that sometimes puts only a few sentences on a page. My digital copy was about 60 pages with everything run together.
There are many short statements about grief that allow the reader to know they are not alone. She captures the emotions perfectly and gives words to the feelings one experiences. This author is a grief specialist and it shows.
The main point of the book is how to create a space for your griefwork. She then sets forth tangible exercises from the simplest things to more in depth exercises. She doesn't dictate any particular way to carry them out or even say that you have to do it in any particular order. She gives ideas of things to try. You carry it out in the way that makes sense to you. It was short and sweet, gives good instruction without dictating how to move through your own grief.
I purchased a copy online for myself and to lend to people who might find it helpful. I will update this review when I see how the 152 pages are laid out.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK, even if you're not currently experiencing grief.
This books is perfect.
As the author points on early in the book, when you're experiencing grief, you may turn to books but find reading to be too labor intensive. This book finds the perfect middle ground. It SAYS it's 152 pages, but it must be in a different format for print that sometimes puts only a few sentences on a page. My digital copy was about 60 pages with everything run together.
There are many short statements about grief that allow the reader to know they are not alone. She captures the emotions perfectly and gives words to the feelings one experiences. This author is a grief specialist and it shows.
The main point of the book is how to create a space for your griefwork. She then sets forth tangible exercises from the simplest things to more in depth exercises. She doesn't dictate any particular way to carry them out or even say that you have to do it in any particular order. She gives ideas of things to try. You carry it out in the way that makes sense to you. It was short and sweet, gives good instruction without dictating how to move through your own grief.
I purchased a copy online for myself and to lend to people who might find it helpful. I will update this review when I see how the 152 pages are laid out.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK, even if you're not currently experiencing grief.
November 5, 2019
I was very disappointed. The only positive is it was a fast read and each page is covered in short thoughts and reflections.
My mother passed in December 2016 and I had my hopes set up for this book as I was searching for some guidance throughout. What I did not like is this "sanctuary" that is highly suggested for over a chapter. I forced myself to get through this part. I have many reminders of my mother in my house. I have a table with her memorial card with a flameless candle and a statue of an angel that was a removable icon from her casket. Maybe some people may find comfort and solace with a sanctuary and that's an entirely personal choice.
I'm not into self-help books. The ones that pose questions and make you reflect. I just don't do those exercises and expected better advice and direction. Grief is a personal journey and although I did appreciate little bits of advice, I think I still have a long way to go before I find any kind of acceptance.
My mother passed in December 2016 and I had my hopes set up for this book as I was searching for some guidance throughout. What I did not like is this "sanctuary" that is highly suggested for over a chapter. I forced myself to get through this part. I have many reminders of my mother in my house. I have a table with her memorial card with a flameless candle and a statue of an angel that was a removable icon from her casket. Maybe some people may find comfort and solace with a sanctuary and that's an entirely personal choice.
I'm not into self-help books. The ones that pose questions and make you reflect. I just don't do those exercises and expected better advice and direction. Grief is a personal journey and although I did appreciate little bits of advice, I think I still have a long way to go before I find any kind of acceptance.
March 13, 2016
I received a free copy of this book for my honest review. In Honoring Grief, the author sets out to offer a range of practical techniques to help lead the reader to find acceptance and healing. The book is well-written and lays the groundwork for a clear and helpful road map for dealing with all sorts of grief experiences. I have recommended this book to many of my clients who have suffered grief and loss as I found it helpful through my own experience.
February 10, 2015
Great book and easy to read. I am going at work, pregnant and in pain because I lost my mother. I have little bit of time and this book made my life way easier and much more organized to let the grief be part of my life and get less stressed.
December 19, 2015
I was looking for something that incorporated all types of losses and thought I had found one in this book, but I didn't. This book was more for losses through death. I did pull one or two ideas for my grief journal, but overall, I didn't find anything too profound.
May 20, 2016
It was published in 2014 but I think it would have been more helpful for me in 2006 or 2011. Now it's a book that I'd recommend to those with more recent loss(es).
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews