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How Will I Ever Get Through This?: A Practical Guide to Navigating Life's Toughest Times
'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?).
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?).
297 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 26, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
August 24, 2026
I listened to the audiobook of "How Will I Ever Get Through This?" by Dr. Lucy Hone through Libby, and this was such a profound, deeply comforting read on grief, loss, and mental resilience. 🎧🤍
Grief is so messy and complex, and I loved how Dr. Hone combines her academic background in resilience research with her own personal, firsthand experience of profound loss. One of my biggest takeaways was her focus on the concept of post-traumatic growth rather than just post-traumatic stress. She beautifully illustrates that there is no set timeline, goalpost, or right way to heal, and that grief and joy can truly coexist simultaneously as we navigate a new way forward.
She explores grief on multiple levels—not just the physical death of a loved one, but the grief of losing good health, going through a divorce, facing career changes, dealing with estrangement, or grieving a dream that didn't actualize the way you imagined.
The poem she shares toward the end about traveling toward one intended destination and landing somewhere completely different really spoke to me. It is a powerful reminder of how we have to gently accept, reinterpret, and reframe the dreams we once held.
While it is an incredible audiobook, this is not a book you simply binge-read or fly through on a daily commute. Dr. Hone includes thought-provoking reflection questions and practical exercises at the end of the chapters that really deserve space to marinate. Personally, I would love to own a physical copy for my home library so I can sit with a journal and write through the end-of-chapter prompts rather than just listening in the car.
If you are navigating uncertainty, major life transitions, or any form of grief and want a grounded, compassionate, and research-supported perspective, I highly recommend this. 📖🌿
Key Takeaways & Themes:
🌱 Post-Traumatic Growth & Mental Resilience
🤍 The Coexistence of Grief and Joy
🧠 Research on Mental Health and Strategies to Build Resilience
🕊️ Navigating Non-Death Losses (Health, Dreams, Estrangement, Life Transitions)
🧭 Reframing Unmet Dreams & Finding a Way Forward
📝 Best Paired with a Journal for Self-Reflection Questions
Grief is so messy and complex, and I loved how Dr. Hone combines her academic background in resilience research with her own personal, firsthand experience of profound loss. One of my biggest takeaways was her focus on the concept of post-traumatic growth rather than just post-traumatic stress. She beautifully illustrates that there is no set timeline, goalpost, or right way to heal, and that grief and joy can truly coexist simultaneously as we navigate a new way forward.
She explores grief on multiple levels—not just the physical death of a loved one, but the grief of losing good health, going through a divorce, facing career changes, dealing with estrangement, or grieving a dream that didn't actualize the way you imagined.
The poem she shares toward the end about traveling toward one intended destination and landing somewhere completely different really spoke to me. It is a powerful reminder of how we have to gently accept, reinterpret, and reframe the dreams we once held.
While it is an incredible audiobook, this is not a book you simply binge-read or fly through on a daily commute. Dr. Hone includes thought-provoking reflection questions and practical exercises at the end of the chapters that really deserve space to marinate. Personally, I would love to own a physical copy for my home library so I can sit with a journal and write through the end-of-chapter prompts rather than just listening in the car.
If you are navigating uncertainty, major life transitions, or any form of grief and want a grounded, compassionate, and research-supported perspective, I highly recommend this. 📖🌿
Key Takeaways & Themes:
🌱 Post-Traumatic Growth & Mental Resilience
🤍 The Coexistence of Grief and Joy
🧠 Research on Mental Health and Strategies to Build Resilience
🕊️ Navigating Non-Death Losses (Health, Dreams, Estrangement, Life Transitions)
🧭 Reframing Unmet Dreams & Finding a Way Forward
📝 Best Paired with a Journal for Self-Reflection Questions
Currently Reading
February 3, 2026So 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!
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!
August 28, 2026
I often refer to this book to help me tend to a range of feelings that come up within grief, relating and resilience. Lucy writes with a compassionate, knowing approach to the inevitable (frequently ineffable?) losses we will all experience in this life.
I love her forward outlook and it’s also a loving gift for dear ones so I’m writing a rare review on it! Truly worth reading!
I love her forward outlook and it’s also a loving gift for dear ones so I’m writing a rare review on it! Truly worth reading!
August 14, 2026
An incredible read. So good in fact that I went out and bought a copy after I finished it so that I will always have it on hand. Could not recommend it more. Not just a self help book but a guide to life really.
Did Not Finish
June 25, 2026It feels unfair to give this book a rating as I didn’t finish it.
I initially was really interested by this book - the personal story, what I could take away for myself personally and professionally. I’d hope it be more of a learning book, but the combo of it becoming more self-help and me just (thankfully) not being the target audience, I didn’t feel pulled to read more
I initially was really interested by this book - the personal story, what I could take away for myself personally and professionally. I’d hope it be more of a learning book, but the combo of it becoming more self-help and me just (thankfully) not being the target audience, I didn’t feel pulled to read more
March 22, 2026
Brilliant book
February 8, 2026
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.
March 31, 2026
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.
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.
June 2, 2026
This book surprised me. I have been reading a lot of self help/therapy type books lately. They usually fall pretty flat or just barely cover the same things I go deep into with my therapist. This book did more than that. Yes, there were things of course that my therapist and I already have covered and work on. The thing is though this is the first book to ever mention infertility, miscarriage, and the life you planned/expected under the grief umbrella. I always thought my therapist was just being nice to me. It made me feel seen and know that I am not alone and my struggles are legitimate. It covered things that I currently do and feel bad about and it helped me see that I am not the only one doing it and there are reason why I do these things. Overall, it gave me some tips, helped me feel seen and understood, and showed me that we all grieve in different ways and we all grieve different things. No way is right and everyone deals differently and there is no shame in that. I was also able to see the progress I have made that I usually cant see in myself and how I have thought I was struggling with just my recent grief but my life has consisted of many things that I think I refused to accept that I was allowed to grieve and fought it and now they are all coming together. I am definitely glad I found this on netgalley and tried this book out and will be chatting to my therapist about it!
Review of advance copy
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
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
April 29, 2026
I recently had the pleasure of reading “How Can I Get Through This?” by Dr. Lucy Hone, and I must say it is a truly meaningful and comforting book. Dr. Hone has a wonderful way of explaining life’s difficult moments with clarity, compassion, and practical insight.
What stood out to me most is how relatable and genuine the message feels. The book doesn’t just talk about challenges—it gently guides you through them, offering hope and strength when you need it most. It feels like having a calm and reassuring conversation with someone who truly understands.
As someone who knows Dr. Hone personally, I can see her kindness and positivity reflected in every page. This book is not only inspiring but also very helpful for anyone going through tough times or simply looking for a better way to handle life’s ups and downs.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs encouragement, clarity, and a reminder that they are not alone.
What stood out to me most is how relatable and genuine the message feels. The book doesn’t just talk about challenges—it gently guides you through them, offering hope and strength when you need it most. It feels like having a calm and reassuring conversation with someone who truly understands.
As someone who knows Dr. Hone personally, I can see her kindness and positivity reflected in every page. This book is not only inspiring but also very helpful for anyone going through tough times or simply looking for a better way to handle life’s ups and downs.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs encouragement, clarity, and a reminder that they are not alone.
July 21, 2026
We received a diagnosis of a an aggressive tumor in the thalamic region of the brain for our 37 year old son in April 2026 and told he would not be able to have it removed as it would do more damage to his brain. We also received news he may have only 6 months to 1 year to live. So I looked for support and found this book. I’m sure I will read it again and again as we move forward. I am strong as I have been through the death of a parent when 12, an abusive step-father, a divorce, loss of an infant grandbaby. However, this one is the hardest and the book has been valuable in seeing it’s okay to cry all the time, to seek islands of certainty, and find joy and humor when possible. He has a 3 year old daughter that brings so much happiness and love to us all, I have a beautiful daughter that is finding love for the first time, I have friends that walk with me to keep me active and just listen. Thanks Dr. Lucy I will get through this and your book has helped!
May 3, 2026
Having read hundreds of self help books most of them, in my opinion by authors that have never actually gone through what they are writing about, it is a refreshing change to read one where the author has gone through an excruciating, monumental life crushing loss. Not because yay someone has suffered but because they GET IT. This is a book of practical suggestions that may work for you or not. But the encouragement is there to try but its ok if your journey with grief is different from another's because it affects us all differently. This is a book written with no judgement, and as someone who lives with her grief everyday I feel this is a book I will go back to.
July 11, 2026
As a Coach for grief and loss this is my bible, which I recommend to all my clients. It is the most incredible book. If you want an easy to read, supportive, compassionate support guide, full of incredible advice and practical easy to follow activities buy this! Lucy provides a helping hand, positivity, grit and encouragement which makes grief survivable, understandable and normal. Most importantly, as she has suffered terrible loss, she knows everyone can endure grief and learn to re-live just as she has done. If you are going to but one book to help you - this is the one! ( in fact all her other books are amazing and worth reading too)
May 15, 2026
A brilliant book from someone who has experienced unimaginable grief. It is amazing to have a resource for the hidden grief associated with living loss (redundancy, illness, divorce, infertility and other life upheaval) that is so rarely talked about. Dr Lucy gives us so much hope - you can rise up from adversity and there are strategies that work whether you’re sailing with the wind or against it at the moment. Who knew that post-traumatic growth is far far more common that post-traumatic stress?
May 22, 2026
The most helpful and impactful book on grief I’ve read. Dr. Lucy Hone validates our experiences with loss and grief, brings evidence-based examples and storytelling and gives real-life tools to help create space for hope and growth. No silver linings platitudes or grief hierarchies here. I would recommend this book to anyone struggling to make sense of and get through a difficult time in their life.
July 28, 2026
At a time when I was reeling at the news of a loved one who had an incurable cancer, Lucy’s book was a life line for me. Her researched based advice and real life anecdotes were exactly the elixir I needed to bring me back to a calmer place. Delivered firstly as the answers to the top ten questions asked by people facing a non-death loss, Lucy then leads us through ten questions from her that help us to reframe our situation, pick up the pieces and make sense of our world again.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
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.
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.
Review of advance copy received from Author
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.
March 22, 2026
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".
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".
Review of advance copy
One of the best books I've ever read on grieving. Readers will feel understood, comforted, and guided by Hone's thoughtful advice.
February 26, 2026
5⭐️
A really refreshing take on the mental health/self help genre, written by someone I felt like knew what rock bottom meant
A really refreshing take on the mental health/self help genre, written by someone I felt like knew what rock bottom meant
March 19, 2026
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.
March 29, 2026
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.
March 23, 2026
I think everyone needs to read this
April 5, 2026
Absolutely loved this book - best book I’ve read on personal resilience and give excellent practical tips on getting through challenging times
Read
May 2, 2026I dont rate self help books. But highly recommend giving this a read especially if you are attempting to navigate a really difficult chapter in your life.
May 7, 2026
Everyone should read this book. Brilliant. From someone who has experienced the most awful kind of grief and from someone who has studied resilience, this book is excellent.
July 10, 2026
A helpful guide with great resources
July 29, 2026
Everyone needs to read this book. You don't need an incomprehensible tragedy pick it up, we all need resilience in our tool kit of life and the inevitable. Amazing on audible as read by the author
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews