Growing Through Grief: A Compassionate Guide to Finding Meaning and Purpose After Life-Altering Loss

by Alex Mammadyarov LMHC, Avery May (Narrator), Marisa Renee Lee - foreword

If you've experienced profound loss, you may feel numb, disoriented, or despondent. The last thing you want to hear is that "time heals all wounds." It sounds like an empty promise—one that negates the importance of what has passed. The truth is that you may never fully heal—and that is okay. You can still go on to live a rich, meaningful, and vibrant life. This gentle guide will help you transform the overwhelming sadness of grief into validation, hope, and personal growth.

In this book, psychotherapist and death doula Alex Mammadyarov presents a step-by-step, comprehensive, and transformative process to help you cultivate present moment awareness, resilience, and self-compassion after the life-altering shock of a significant loss. You'll learn to ride the ebbs and flows of grief that rear up in the midst of painful anniversaries and events—so you can navigate your new reality, relieve suffering, and grow. You'll also find comfort and clarity as you face the challenges of our insensitive, "get over it" culture that prevents you from being fully seen during this difficult time.

It's time for a new way of looking at grief—one that is honest and vulnerable, and honors what's been lost. With this profound guide, you'll learn to grow around your grief—instead of moving past it—to create more meaning, purpose, and connection.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Grief

Audible Audio

Published December 1, 2025

Reviews

[Brittany Acciavatti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply, compassionate and honest guide that will support anyone dealing with a new loss or those grappling with loss experienced in the past. The author feels like a friend with her hand reached out who gets it. I’m so glad a book of this kind has finally arrived in the world. It should be a staple in everyone’s book collection.

[Danielle DesRosier · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you yearn to feel deeply understood and seen in the often lonely journey of grief, look no further. Alex skillfully weaves her personal experience with significant losses with her clinical expertise in the field to create a warm companion book to your grief. Since reading it, I feel more at peace with my own (at times tumultuous) grief journey and better equipped to support people navigating theirs. Alex offers grace, perspective, and comfort through each page. Moving forward, I feel more confident in how I will navigate my grief. “Growing Through Grief” could not be more aptly named as her words deliver comfort, hope, and guidance. I could not recommend this book highly enough!

[Bear Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great thanks to Tantor Media, Inc, Libro.fm, and the American Library Association for the ALC of the audiobook. The book is now available for purchase from your local independent bookstores as well as Libro.fm.

A thorough, direct, and very useful book.

While I am years removed from my most significant loss and have spent those years in therapy, I still found this book to be an excellent way to engage with that therapy work. Even when the author discussed techniques, such as box breathing, that have long been part of my recovery I found it reaffirming and therefore very helpful to hear about. Perhaps more significant was how holistic the author presented grief work: touching on the myriad angles that grief can come to a person and recognizing that sometimes the work doesn't and cannot begin until months or even years after the loss.

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Growing through grief was very in line with a lot of other books relating to grief but what I really enjoyed was how the author allowed the grief to really suck. They acknowledge that sometimes there won't be the right words or right thing to do that will make you feel even a little bit better- it just gets to suck.
The author easily wove in their experiences in a clinical setting without the book feeling too technical and the whole thing felt really warm.

[Dez Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fellow griever and therapist, Alex’s writing is a profound source of comfort and guidance. In each chapter, she beautifully weaves heartfelt stories with insightful, practical tools that leave you feeling truly seen and supported. Growing Through Grief is a companion-- a book that meets you where you are and reminds you that you’re not alone in your healing. A must read!

[Shelby Forsythia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best grief books I’ve ever read (and I’ve read almost 100 in my short life!). Alex beautifully sorts growing through grief into clear topics while interweaving stories, metaphors, and journaling prompts so that you can make the book your own. Truly a support book for life after the death of a loved one I’ll recommend again and again.