How Will I Ever Get Through This?: A Practical Guide to Navigating Life's Toughest Times

by Lucy Hone

'The best work I know on positive psychology and grief is Lucy Hone's' Dr Martin Seligman

Grief is not confined to bereavement. Yet society rarely recognises these non-death losses, leaving many feeling isolated and unseen.

From bestselling author and TED speaker Dr Lucy Hone comes a timely guide to surviving living loss-the feeling that follows divorce, illness, estrangement, redundancy, infertility or any other life upheaval.

Drawing on her own experience of multiple losses, decades of resilience research, and the voices of others navigating profound change, Hone offers a unique lifeline. Structured around twenty key questions, How Will I Ever Get Through This? gently assists readers to move from initial overwhelm (Why do I feel so physically exhausted?) to hopeful re-engagement (Who and what do you want to live for?).

Genres: Nonfiction, Mental Health, Grief, Health

297 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 26, 2026

Reviews

[Annabel The Good Age]

So excited to have this incredible resource to recommend to my clients.

The way it’s structured into the top 10 questions we have as humans going through tough times followed by the top 10 questions that resilience psychology wants us to ask ourselves to help navigate these tough times is so intuitive.

It makes it such an easy read as you feel so understood reading the first half of the book and then so supported and guided during the second half.

Thank you Dr Lucy for another fantastic book!

[Nonie Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book

[Lorraine Boennic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have devoured this extraordinary book. Having been familiar with Lucy's work from her blogs, TED talk, previous book, newsletters and social media posts, I was excited to read her latest offering. As ever, Lucy communicates her knowledge, research-findings and personal experience in a remarkably accessible way. This book has life-changing practical tips intertwined with gentle, compassionate explanations about why we feel the way we do when our lives derail, in big or small ways, sudden or creeping ways, dramatic or quiet ways, and how we can harness these experiences to build resilience for the future. I highly recommend this book for everybody. An absolute cracker! Thank you, Dr Lucy Hone.

[Estar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hopefully wanting to survive a devastating loss (or losses) leads you to this book because it is such a rich treasure trove of ideas and strategies that will give you some hope. Dr. Lucy Hone addresses both death losses and living losses, something many authors don’t often do. She covers so many areas and approaches to loss and grief that this book is the most comprehensive and best book I have found in its category.

Some of the book’s content is informed by a large research study on Stressful Life Events. She discusses the top ten questions that preoccupy people in their darkest days that emerged from the study. She also has ten questions for the reader to contemplate along with some suggested activities. Her work with clients, audience members of keynote addresses and workshops and her own personal experience with grief and loss added to her approaches. She gives practical coping strategies that she has found worked. She doesn’t overuse real-life examples of others. She doesn’t use complicated language or write convoluted sentences which is very helpful for someone who can be easily overwhelmed by something too taxing for their brain to process during their time of grief. My one negative of this book is her use of the F-word in making an acronym for a stressful life event. I think that limits who I might suggest read this book because they could be turned off by that language. I am thankful for an advance copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

[Max Inglis · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the early stages of my grief journey, following the loss of my sweetheart, my world had changed in a way more than I could ever had imagined. I was recommended to view Dr Lucy's TED Talk. Dr Lucy's delivery grabbed my attention as she spoke on the subject of grief, with her personal tragic story woven into her message.

That began my journey with Dr Lucy's insightful work. I soon bought her book Resilient Grieving with more insightful information, explaining practical steps, always offering hope.

I bought Dr Lucy's newly published book How Will I Ever Get Through This as a gift for someone who would benefit Dr Lucy's practical guide for navigating the tough times of living loss.

When it arrived I started to read the first pages expecting to hand it over as promised. As I got through the first chapter, I couldn't put it down. So I put my other reading to one side. Dr Lucy's writings flow off the pages effortlessly, I knew I had to keep reading, wanting to learn more.

We're all so fortunate we have Dr Lucy.
I am personally incredibly grateful. My words can never express my gratitude toward Dr Lucy enough..🙏..Max

[baked and booked · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read for anyone navigating a loss.
Author offers personal touches, so you know they "get it"

A few new techniques added to my routine as I process my own loss. Entirely relatable and actionable steps to assist.

[Al Sw · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have recently received and read this book. Dr Lucy Hone is someone I truly admire and this book and her other book Grieving with Resilience have been a life saver to me. I encourage you to read this book.

[Karen Chaplin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very practical, structured, insightful book
The format allows you to both understand your physical and emotional responses as well as empower you move through . So much wisdom, empathy, permission to grieve and pathways through the troughs and pits, and out of " stuck".

[Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've ever read on grieving. Readers will feel understood, comforted, and guided by Hone's thoughtful advice.

[Lottie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

5⭐️

A really refreshing take on the mental health/self help genre, written by someone I felt like knew what rock bottom meant

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is for anyone that has experienced greif, which lets be fair in the world we live in today, means this book is for everyone. Helpful, practical but above all else written with realy heart.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a bit out of the ordinary for me, as someone who tends to reach towards primarily reading escapism fiction. However this book contains some very important lessons, and is one I think almost anyone would benefit from reading. The acknowledgment of how grief applies to ‘living losses’, not just bereavement is vital for people feeling lost and alone in these situations. The empathy and compassion is so strong throughout this book, letting the reader feel seen and comforted where they are at right now, while providing actionable steps (backed by psychology) for how to move forward. Overall this is a great resource to both build your own personal resilience, and also to refer back to as a toolkit when hard times hit.

[Ruby Lange · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think everyone needs to read this

[Caitlin Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book - best book I’ve read on personal resilience and give excellent practical tips on getting through challenging times