Never Really Left: Grief, Healing, and a Mother’s Unexpected Relationship with Her Departed Son

by Wendy Jordan Saffel

Faced with an incomprehensible loss, one mother’s experiences forced her to reconsider everything she thought she knew about life and death—and open her heart to a new reality.

When Wendy Jordan Saffel lost her twenty-year-old son, Hugh, she discovered that grief is a well without a bottom. But even as she felt herself sinking into despair, she was offered an unexpected lifeline—one that changed her perception of the world forever.

A rational thinker, Wendy’s life was filled with facts—the tangible and the measurable. That is, until she began experiencing profound spiritual connections with her son shortly after his passing. These initial moments of contact propelled her on a years-long journey to understand what happens when we die, what comprises the afterlife, and how a relationship with our lost loved ones can persist in ways that are real, true, beautiful, and sacred.

Drawing on traditional and non-traditional spiritual beliefs, the growing body of work on the survival of consciousness, and what quantum physics tells us about the nature of reality, Never Really Left shares a wealth of research, experience, and hope for all those who have lost the ones they love. For Wendy, walking the path through grief and toward understanding led her to tremendous healing and a new paradigm of living—where joy can coexist with grief.

236 pages, Paperback

Published October 28, 2025

Reviews

[Susan J Daniels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grab your slippers, a blanket, and a cup of tea before easing into the comfort of this book. Wendy Saffel writes about living with grief as only someone who has experienced child loss can do.

The author takes us on her journey as she turns her gutting pain into knowledge and understanding through her work in meditation, mediumship, and outreach. We learn who Hugh is (not was) and how much he is loved and missed. The ongoing connection between Hugh and Wendy is vivid and true and he proves himself to be a master communicator from the other side. With Hugh's encouragement, Wendy finds herself a budding author and this book is now a reality.

Along the journey, we also meet the people who have been Wendy's teachers and supporters in her quest to know more, learn more, grow more. Over weeks and months she surrounds herself with gifted mentors and talented teachers while knowing her son is right beside her.

In these pages, those of us who are also grieving will come to know Wendy's warmth, humor, and amazing ability to truly connect with others who have experienced loss. Support, understanding, empathy, and enlightenment abound in these pages and you will know you are not alone on the journey ahead.

[Shirley Skidmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cried a lot reading this book. Not just because it is heartwrenching, but because it’s so illuminating. Wendy Saffel experienced the traumatic death of her 20-year-old son, and shares her highly personal, research-driven journey to finding new and meaningful connections with him on the Other Side. This isn’t a “woo woo” book: Wendy is a trained scientist, a fact-finder, and her learnings and experiences – including those she witnesses with other grieving parents – bring her the proof she is after that death doesn’t kill the soul. Families struggling with a child’s death will be moved and inspired by Wendy’s story, but so will anyone with a curious, seeking mind who has experienced deep loss. For me, it brought back the eeriness of signs that have occurred in my life during key times of grief or remembrance that can’t be explained by coincidence, and opened up some thought-provoking possibilities about how “not to lose” those I love who are no longer physically present. The spirits of Wendy’s son and grandmother may have told her to write Never Really Left, but it was still a courageous thing to do. I’m so glad she did.

[Susan Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never Really Left is beautifully conceived and written. It's also a story that has the potential to jolt the reader into a deeper understanding of grief, love, and the afterlife. I chose this book out of curiosity, and surprised myself by completing it within a few days. I gobbled it up. The author, Wendy Saffel, speaks directly, with simple eloquence in a voice that makes the reader feel intimately close, as if she were a sister or dear friend. She exposes herself, her grief, her exploration with the wonder, awe, hurt and joy that our very existence deserves...and out of that comes a pile of valuable insights that somehow just feel 'right' to the reader--as 'woo woo' as she admits some of them seem (and that is where the wonderful jolt comes in...). Saffel's gifts, as shared in this book, are many and real. For anyone dealing with the loss of a loved one, her chapters are filled with compassion and wisdom. For me, looking to better understand our universe and humanity's innate spirituality, Never Really Left is a wonderful, engaging, and deeply human place to start anew on that lifelong journey.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This won't convert anyone not already leaning heavily over the fence. The author assures readers she is a rational and scientifically-minded person, but in her grief she instantly falls into believing in contact from spirits. The first several chapters are her attempts to convince the reader of the truth of her experiences, but she seems completely unaware of any possiblities for scepticism. It's certainly believable that she would find comfort in this possibility after the loss of her son, and she fully illustrates the depth of her own belief, but her belief in proof isn't the same thing as actual proof.

Editing should have been tighter. Plenty of repetitions drags the story down and problematic or incorrect sentences trip up the reading (ex: "Hugh was introduced to 'Percs'... at a fraternity party and quickly became addicted, as the vile, wretched opioids do" (p. 11)).

Program topics: not currently recommended for programming

Discussion prompts: not currently recommended for book discussion groups

[Margie Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Never Really Left” takes the reader through the devastating emotions parents feel when their child transitions from this world. Our hearts are literally broken. Wendy describes this agonizing time and shows us it is entirely possible to find a path to hope, purpose, and loving peace.

The book helps the reader understand the many puzzling occurrences, dreams, and feelings parents might experience during this time of utter despair. Wendy assures us these happenings are not mere coincidences but are the beginnings of “awakening” to something much larger than this earthly experience. Our kids in spirit are our guides as they lead us to this new understanding of death and life.

I highly recommend “Never Really Left”! The book offers such hope to parents as they navigate their way through grief and come to the realization their child is still very much alive. At the end of the book, Wendy supplies a great list of helpful resources too!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free DRC of this book through Netgalley and the publisher. I would say that this book is about love. I read a quote once that said something like "grief is just love with nowhere to go." In this book, Wendy Saffel shares how her 20-year-old son dies unexpectedly. We see how she dealt with that loss by exploring the science of the afterlife and learning about mediums. I did tear up a few times while reading this book. I had a loved one pass away the same year as Wendy's son so I am still grieving for her. I also have children around the age of Wendy's son so it's easy and hard at the same time to imagine myself in her shoes. If you are grieving and want to look at it from another viewpoint, check out this book.

[Robin Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never Really Left is well written, with a strong voice and relatable style.

This is a remarkable, well-researched, loving and moving book. It imparts important information while staying connected to a heart that shares all the deep, raw, hard, joyous emotions of an inspiring real life story.

It’s the story of a mother who is grieving her son’s death….and transformed by a seemingly chance happening that changes her world, and her relationship with her departed son, forever.

As a psychotherapist who has seen the deep grief of parents who have a departed child, this book makes so much sense to me. It offers parents a way forward that honors their grief while opening the possibilities of connection with their child, and a renewed connection to personal joy.

[Margaret Maroney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A story for everyone who has lost someone and is wondering if they remain connected to their loved one. The answer is YES! This author found that if you are open to the idea that your relationship doesn’t end, it doesn’t! Never Really Left tugged at my heart and opened me up to exploring my own spiritual connections and gave me avenues to follow. It was easy to read, informative with practical tips but also very heartfelt. I cried, I gasped and it made me think. I highly recommend reading Never Really Left. Reading this book lifted me up and gave me hope after losing my son and my mother.

[Margaret Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wendy Saffel lost her son to an accidental overdose in the early days of the pandemic, and a co-worker's outreach introduced her to a way to connect with her son via a medium. Grief is a very personal and unpredictable experience, and the author does an amazing job balancing the story of her journey with a clear-eyed exploration of the way she made sense of it. Her very compelling book combines memoir, deep research, and sensitive recommendations of what to consider in your own journey. A hard read, but for anyone asking Why? as they grieve their own loss, it's a worthwhile one.