The Weight Of What's Gone: Words & Thoughts From A Grieving Heart

by Jenna Lowthert

Through the loss of my mother, on my grief journey, I have always tried to pen to paper what I think in my head and what I feel in my heart. It’s hard to find the exact words to describe this thing they call grief. In this book, I share with you my collection of quotes and poems that were written to pause, reflect and acknowledge the sadness we feel after we experience such loss. For the moments when words feel impossible, for the nights when your heart aches for what’s gone, read these pages and you will find a place where your grief is understood. This one is for the hearts that continue to beat, even after they have been broken.

www.daughterofanangel.com

Genres: Grief, Poetry, Nonfiction

149 pages, Paperback

Published October 4, 2024

Reviews

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good! I cried just a bit. But the author explains grief in ways I always thought were just me. I’m glad to know it’s not just me. Grief is a hell of a thing but this was powerful!

[April Zabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who's lost a parent, it spoke to my heart.

"I still remember walking down that sad, dark hallway of the hospital feeling as if I was leaving you behind, and when I reached those doors, I stepped outside, and in that moment I knew my life would never be the same again...

and even after all these years, I still hope you knew that I never wanted to leave your side."

[Venus · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a few Grammer errors throughout the Book, but other than that I enjoyed it. I lost my Dad almost 3yrs ago and it was nice to feel seen.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and heart breaking

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so emotional for me. I lost my mom when I was only 15 and there is still so much grief I face even now 9 years later. I miss her everyday. There are so many things that she didn't get to see or do. I think knowing all that is the worst part of grief. It's the knowing that they would be there faster than anyone, but they aren't there.

"the weight of what’s gone is not only in the sadness. sometimes it’s in the realization that some things will never be the same again."

"how unfair it is, that i have to live the rest of my life, without you."

"she wasn’t just my mother. she was so much more than that. she was the true embodiment of love. she was the best friend who stood by my side no matter what. she’s the one who loved me without condition and i wouldn’t be half the person i am today if it weren’t for her and all she has shown me."

"you were the best of the best. you were the heart of our family. you were the rock that we stood on. you were the glue that held it all together. and nothing has been the same without you."

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contains short verses that describe loss and grief. Some resonate perfectly.

[lexi ivey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed this book in my life.

I lost my mom when I was 25, she was 45. Her death was unexpected and sudden. It shredded me to pieces. I’ve felt so alone and so unable to express my pain through grief. This book helped put my feelings into words and made me feel less alone. I cried at every word as it felt so deep and personal to me. I’ll be reading this again. I skipped the part of to my daughter from dad, because I’m not ready to imagine the pain of losing my dad, but I’ll be saving that part of the book for the day I need it. If you lost your mom, I highly recommend this book.

[PetraReads2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a quick read for Mother’s Day.

I lost my mom on May 27, 2021. The author of this book also lost her mom on May 27, 2013 so that was interesting to see at the end of this book.

May is an incredibly difficult month for me. I lost my twin sister on May 27, 1990 (we were 6 weeks old) and then my mom on the same day 31 years apart. My mom and I had a rough relationship for a few years prior to her passing and reconnected only 3 months before she passed. I have a lot of regrets, a lot of things I wish I could have said.

This book helped me work through a little bit of the grief I’m experiencing today. It definitely made me feel a little less alone

[Grazel · Rating 5 out of 5]

"to have to helplessly watch them slip away.
to be told that there is nothing more that can be done.
to have to make decisions that no person should ever have to make and to have sleepless nights thinking about it all...
i see you. i understand you."

It's been almost 5 years since I lost my dad & reading this specific paragraph made it seem like it was just yesterday. Thank you author for sharing this with us. I feel validated to still grieve even after how many years. I hope everyone of us will soon heal.

[Kaci Lehman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It feels weird to rate a book about someone’s grief. There’s nothing insanely profound or extremely poetic here, but it’s a beautiful and relatable expression of grief. It was nice to read something by someone who lost their mom at the same point of life I did. It gave me a chance to reflect, to feel less alone, and to find new ways to put some feelings into words.

[Lindsey Grannis · Rating 4 out of 5]

After losing both of my parents, this brought up so many emotions for me. Some things that I haven’t been able to put into words. Reading the “letters to my daughter” healed parts of me that I never thought would be healed.

[Angela Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good 🤍

[Clarissa Perez-Cardona · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed this book more than I thought. It feels so comforting to read something that expresses how I feel. I feel seen in my grief when often I feel alone. I lost my mom in June 2023 and everyday is a struggle.

[Georgia Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cried my way through this one. A beautiful book full of poems that are so relatable and couldn’t be more truthful to anyone’s grief journey, was a nice read.

[Ashley DePoutot · Rating 4 out of 5]

“i never truly understood loss
until i sat next to my mom’s
hospital bed and begged
for a miracle that never came.”

[Bailee Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wanted to highlight the whole book

i lost my nana in 2020, she was my best friend, my mother figure, my safe space, my home. i miss her everyday and the grief has been so hard to deal w. this book made me feel so seen and understood. i cried in a good way. thank you for sharing your words w those of us who need them.

[Nelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read this book!

I recently just lost my mom to leukemia this year and also my brother due to a car accident back in October of 2024. Reading this book really made me realize how much I related to everything Jenna had to say. My mom was only 47 when she passed from leukemia and I’m currently 25. So when I read that Jenna’s mom was only 48 and she was 24 I was shocked because it wasn’t much of an age difference we were just a year older and a year younger from one another. It was comforting to read this book and find peace knowing that I am not alone and there are others out there that share similar experiences with grief like this. Loved this book so much! I will definitely be purchasing the hard copy to look back on just to read passages that resonated so much to me.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read. Beautiful words and poems that resonated with my grief journeys. Thank you for sharing and letting those of us who are grieving know we are not alone in our heavy emotions.

[Baleigh Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve ever lost a mother, I definitely recommend reading this. Had me in tears, however it definitely hits home.

[Maria Ibarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grief

I lost my father last October and have been looking for the words to explain how I feel, this book does that and more. If you've lost someone you will recognize some of these moments and emotions. I recommend this book to help you gather your thoughts and emotions.

[mjborchert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really can't put into words what this book did for me. Sometimes someone putting into words exactly how you feel just gives you a little bit of breath. This will be a frequent re-read for me. ❣️

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a young female who has lost her mom and sister, this was very touching and relatable.

[⚓️Jennifer Sacchetti ⚓️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read, pages are filled with poems abs quotes from loved ones dealing with the loss of someone that this struggle with, that they mourn on a daily basis. Some pages hit really hard, sometimes it’s good to just let those tears flow.
Miss you, Dad!

[Misty Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jenna hit the nail on the head with this book! I lost my Mother to cancer in February 2024 and Jenna literally wrote the very words I felt but couldn’t put together. I’m so thankful for this book!

[Sarah Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect collection of poetry to cry to on your dead mom’s birthday 🫡

[Meredith Cosseboom · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent book

I needed to read your words. So many of your words have resonated with me in every aspect of my grief.

This book is excellent.

[Savannah Beazer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book to help with the grief of losing someone.

[Cheryll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just lost my mom 3/18/25. This book helped me. Even though the tears won’t stop, it’s comforting to know that I’m not alone and to feel my feelings.

[tara ⏾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ☆

kindle unlimited

𝜗𝜚 tropes: grief & loss | poetry

i read this on my papas eighth month being gone from this world. this was a beautiful experience. i’m always completely blown away when i discover any poetry book but especially if it’s about grief.

grief is frustratingly beautiful & jenna really shows you that. i found so much comfort here, reading about loss. losing my grandpa forever changed me, it’s nice to see im not alone in this grief.

𝜗𝜚 quotes:

- what i have learned about grief is that we keep on going.. even when we think we can’t.

- how unfair it is, that i have to live the rest of my life, without you.

- i made a wish today. a wish that you are free of pain and at peace. a wish that you would visit me in my dreams. a wish that you somehow know how much I love and miss you. today, i wished for you.

- when we grieve for a loved one, we also grieve for ourselves and the sadness of knowing what we lost. they’re gone, they’re not coming back and we are left here to miss them.

- the empty chair. the silent room. all of the words left unsaid. grief is the haunting of what once was and what we wish so badly could be again.

- but maybe they are somewhere.. missing us just as much as we miss them.

- i never truly understood loss until i sat next to my mom’s hospital bed and begged for a miracle that never came.

- we replay our last words over and over again. always wishing for just one more chance to hear their voice and i don’t think that the longing to speak to them, just one more time, ever truly goes away.

- wherever you may be.. a part of me will always be there, too.

- grief is the shadow that follows you around everywhere you go. some days it is barely there. some days it is all you can see.

- say their name. shout it from a rooftop. talk about them. tell their story. drive with the windows down, blasting their old favorite songs. celebrate their life. live yours for them. never let them be forgotten.. and they will always be remembered.

- they say that grief is the price we pay for love.. but what they don’t tell you is that sometimes the cost is so high that we never truly recover.

- heavens gain was my hearts biggest loss.

- losing a parent is not just a moment of sadness. it’s a lifelong adjustment to our world as we always knew it now forever changed.

- my heart is banking on the fact that i will see you again.. i have to.

- i think that when it is all said and done.. after we lay them to rest and the people start to leave. the flowers start to wilt, and the sympathy cards stop coming. the check-ins lessen and the world just keeps on turning.. it’s like they die all over again and i think a piece of us dies with them.

- and i wonder if it will always feel as if it were just yesterday… no matter how many years go by.

- the hardest part wasn’t just the loss.. it was the learning to live without them in a place that doesn’t feel like home anymore.

- there are moments when i still reach for the phone to call you.. just to hear your voice. but i know that if i did, it wouldn’t be you on the other end.. and it hurts all over again. i hate that you’re not here. i hate that i can’t hug you. i hate that i can’t tell you all about my days. i always find myself wishing for one more moment with you. once more chance to tell you just how much i love you. one more laugh at all the things that only we thought were funny.. and it hurts all over again.

- i wish i had wings so i could fly up to heaven to tell you how much i have missed you.

- the second you died, i knew that i would miss you for the rest of my life.

- i still remember walking down that sad, dark hallway of the hospital feeling as if i was leaving you behind and when I reached those doors, i stepped outside, and in that moment i knew that my life would never be the same again.. and even after all these years, i still hope you knew that I never wanted to leave your side.

- the stars remind me of you. so bright, so beautiful. yet so far away.

- in the moment someone we love dies… time stands still for us. the clock stops ticking. but the rest of the world keeps going. would it be easier if the entire universe could just pause for a moment and mourn beside us?

- they say grief is the price we pay for love and i think i would pay it a thousand times over if it meant that i could hug you one more time.

- the depth of our grief measures the magnitude of our love

- grief is so sneaky. one minute you’re fine, the next minute you’re in the aisle of a grocery store crying because you saw a snack they used to love.

- you are gone but your love i still felt in every crack of my bruised and broken heart.

- losing you was like waking up in a world that’s lost every bit of color.

- i didn't lose you all at once. as time moves on, i realize that i lose you piece by piece. day by day. year by year. all the countless moments when i find myself forgetting the way your voice sounded, the way you said my name, or the way it felt to be near you..it's the longest and the hardest good-bye.

- i carry this homesickness deep within my heart. wherever i may go, nothing will ever feel like home without you.

[DilZ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hoping to find someone who truly understood what really meant to lose someone… and I did. Thank you Jenna. Thank you for putting all my thoughts over the past years into a book.. made me roll a tear or two while reading and also jump back in time to the day I’ve lost my cousin. THANK YOU. I can and can’t at the same time imagine what you’ve been through but I am with you and I see you. I know what grief –what that real and deep grief that shatters your soul in two feels like. I am so sorry you had to go through all of this this young but you also came out from this battle way stronger. You are strong and resilient. I truly understand the weight of what is gone, and sorry that you do too.. wish I could take all the pain away from this world…