The Healing Process: Stories of Ordinary People Working Through Grief

by Rebecca A. Miles

This book explores the process of coming to terms with loss. In each chapter the reader becomes a silent witness to therapy sessions in which a sister, a wife, a brother, or a physician struggles with the emotional ups and downs of the first several years of grief. You hear each person ask very human “Is what I’m feeling normal?” or “Should I be over this by now?” The reader is encouraged to examine his or her own history of loss by using the technique of a Time Line of Loss. The book also introduces the Kaleidoscope Effect—a way of understanding the often unsettling changes in existing relationships after a death. Each personal story testifies to the fact that grief is a state of being that affects our body, our psychology, and our social interactions. We can feel normal for weeks or months and then, as if by an undertow, be pulled back into sorrow and grief. With empathy and insight, several stories explore the issue of losing a parent who was emotionally or physically abusive. How do we grieve someone whom we loved, but did not like? How do you remain compassionate in attitude toward a parent who was emotionally manipulative, yet now is old, frail, and dying?  The message shared through each story is one of healing. Through the passage of time and with a little therapeutic intervention, these ordinary people were able to resolve their grief and reach out to reconnect with others in affection and love. ..... “Everyone will experience death during his or her lifetime. Through a series of true stories, this book helps us explore and understand the grieving process, especially with relationships that are complex and challenging. It is a Must Read!” Kathy J. Selvaggi, MD, MS, FAAHPM Palliative Care Director Butler Health System “These profoundly poignant stories illustrate a breadth of grief experiences and demonstrate how the psychological complexities of this most difficult of human experiences can be successfully navigated. Dr. Miles is a consummate therapist weaving clinical wisdom effortlessly though her storytelling. The insights in this work are easily accessible to lay people and will prove an important reference for clinicians as well.” Andrea DiMartini, MD Professor of Psychiatry and Surgery University of Pittsburgh

About the author

Rebecca A. Miles is the best selling author of the Pittsburgh Murder Mystery trilogy, "Ground Truth," "Broken Glass," "Locked Box." Across these three novels she explores the themes of love and loss, two states she considers to be universal in human experience.

Rebecca's fourth novel, "La Quinceañera," is her most psychological and personal. She explores the deep attachment between Marisol, a math teacher, and her beloved immigrant grandmother.
In this work Marisol grows and changes in her family relationships and with the men in her life.
Publication is August 2026.

"Holiday Mysteries and Enchantments" is a delightful and sometimes morally tantalizing collection of short stories based in the major American holidays. It is a wonderful choice for lively discussion in book clubs.

Rebecca holds a Doctorate in Psychology from Duquesne University where she was briefly an Assistant Professor. Her work at the University of Pittsburgh's cancer center and her private practice focused on the medically ill patient and the physicians and nurses that treated them.