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Grief Day By Day: Simple Practices and Daily Guidance for Living with Loss
Supportive readings and exercises to help you move through life after loss, one day at a time
Grief is complex; it may present itself differently on any given day. This grief recovery handbook offers daily reflections and practices that address the day-to-day emotions and experiences that accompany the grieving process so you can create a life in which peace—and even gratitude—can coexist with your grief.
Explore the stages of grief with a collection of quotes, musings, meditations, and more that are tied together by a weekly theme, allowing you to reflect on each concept in depth. Work through topics like loneliness, grief attacks, exhaustion, hope, love, and creating meaning. You’ll find opportunities to write, draw, meditate, do breathing exercises, and more as you learn to live fully with your grief.
This grief recovery handbook helps facilitate healing
365 Daily reflections—Find a year’s worth of readings that can be revisited as many times as you like as you move through the grieving process. Weekly themes—Explore feelings and experiences common to grief, including things left unsaid, unhealthy coping mechanisms, guilt, intimacy, and faith. 52 Healing exercises—Discover activities that help you process your feelings at the end of each week and develop skills for coping with grief as it arises.
Make peace with your grief one day at a time with the daily readings and exercises in this standout among grief books.
Grief is complex; it may present itself differently on any given day. This grief recovery handbook offers daily reflections and practices that address the day-to-day emotions and experiences that accompany the grieving process so you can create a life in which peace—and even gratitude—can coexist with your grief.
Explore the stages of grief with a collection of quotes, musings, meditations, and more that are tied together by a weekly theme, allowing you to reflect on each concept in depth. Work through topics like loneliness, grief attacks, exhaustion, hope, love, and creating meaning. You’ll find opportunities to write, draw, meditate, do breathing exercises, and more as you learn to live fully with your grief.
This grief recovery handbook helps facilitate healing
365 Daily reflections—Find a year’s worth of readings that can be revisited as many times as you like as you move through the grieving process. Weekly themes—Explore feelings and experiences common to grief, including things left unsaid, unhealthy coping mechanisms, guilt, intimacy, and faith. 52 Healing exercises—Discover activities that help you process your feelings at the end of each week and develop skills for coping with grief as it arises.
Make peace with your grief one day at a time with the daily readings and exercises in this standout among grief books.
322 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 11, 2018
1053 people are currently reading
740 people want to read
About the author
Jan Warner
1 book10 followersJan Warner has used her Master's in Counseling degree and her training in NLP and hypnotherapy while working in child abuse prevention and suicide prevention. When her beloved husband Artie died nine years she felt as though she had died too. She decided to honor his memory by making herself available to grieving people the way he, as a recovering alcoholic, had made himself available to alcoholics and addicts. Jan decided it would give her life meaning even if she only reached one person. Now, she has a Facebook page, that is a supportive worldwide community with over 2.5 million likes. She is the author of Grief Day by Day: Simple Practices and Daily Guidance for Living With Loss. She has produced documentary films and an Off Broadway play. She has been to all seven continents. Jan's favorite role in life is being a grandmother.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
March 2, 2024
I have lost my daughter to Leukemia 10
Years ago at the tender age of 14. For a decade I suffered unimaginable grief. Books on grief lifted me up, helped me cope, and most importantly books saved my sanity!
Just when I was finding my “New Normal”, 3 weeks ago very suddenly I lost my husband to cardiac arrest. I am devastated, shocked and completely overwhelmed by grief and having to go through another traumatic loss.
Grief is not an illness, not something one gets over. It’s a very long road. A very difficult journey with many bumps, barriers, surprises, and obstacles along the way.
This book is wonderful because it’s small paragraphs written for those grieving for each day. Day 1- Day 2- Day 3- ETC. When one is in deep grief, one has difficulty concentrating on any task, may it be daily chores or something as simple as reading a book. That is why this book is wonderful. You just read a paragraph… that’s it! It’s not an overwhelming book.
I will keep this book by my bed side table and refer to it as needed.
Years ago at the tender age of 14. For a decade I suffered unimaginable grief. Books on grief lifted me up, helped me cope, and most importantly books saved my sanity!
Just when I was finding my “New Normal”, 3 weeks ago very suddenly I lost my husband to cardiac arrest. I am devastated, shocked and completely overwhelmed by grief and having to go through another traumatic loss.
Grief is not an illness, not something one gets over. It’s a very long road. A very difficult journey with many bumps, barriers, surprises, and obstacles along the way.
This book is wonderful because it’s small paragraphs written for those grieving for each day. Day 1- Day 2- Day 3- ETC. When one is in deep grief, one has difficulty concentrating on any task, may it be daily chores or something as simple as reading a book. That is why this book is wonderful. You just read a paragraph… that’s it! It’s not an overwhelming book.
I will keep this book by my bed side table and refer to it as needed.
May 11, 2019
I'm buying this book for several friends who have suddenly lost someone. This book breaks recovery up into small little bites - which is perfect -- a little bit per day -- and that's how you make a journey. Really important book. Highly recommend.
January 21, 2019
Reading Grief Day by Day gave me a great deal of comfort. The daily quotes that Warner selected were beautiful and deeply moving. I couldn’t help but shed a tear once or twice while reading Warner’s thoughtful meditations on grief.
I have lost count of the number of funerals over which I have presided. Although I know my loved ones have gone home to be with God, my heart still mourns for the passing of each and every one of them.
The author, Jan Warner, has a master’s degree in counseling as well as experience working with suicide prevention. I appreciated how Warner directly engaged with the writings of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. I studied the work of Kubler-Ross in seminary and I have found her work to be helpful in my own practice of pastoral care and counseling.
Warner argues that grief is both deeply complex and individual. Often, we talk about the stages of grief, but Warner reminds her readers that there is no “right” way to experience mourning. This is an important reminder in our rushed society. Often we encourage people to bury their grief and place a social stigma on intense mourning. As Warner points out, such denial can be deeply unhealthy for grieving individuals.
I would describe Grief Day By Day as a secular devotional. Warner provides a quote and brief meditation on grief for each day of the year. She has divided the book into 52 chapters (one for each week of the year) and centered each chapter around a weekly theme. Some of my favorite weeks were entitled, “Mood Swings/Grief Attacks,” “Physical Symptoms,” “Showing Up,” and “Helping Others.”
At the end of each week, Warner provides a guided meditation or exercise that the reader can use in order to help to tame their grief. I found many of these exercises to be surprisingly clever and effective. I plan to use some of these exercises in my own practice of pastoral care and counseling.
The reader can choose to work through the book in chronological order or they can dip in to the book randomly. Either way, the reader will find the quotes compelling and Warner’s short meditations to be deeply soulful.
It is clear from Warner’s sensitive writing that she has done a great deal of research in her field and that she has a heart for working with the bereaved. Warner’s writing, both on her website and her Facebook page, has offered comfort to many people who are grieving. Jan Warner was inspired to start “Grief Speaks Out,” and to make herself available to others who are grieving after experiencing the loss of her own husband.
The particularly delightful thing about this book is that it is short and well grounded in an understanding of psychology; therefore, even someone who does not enjoy reading could find solace in Warner’s writing.
This book would be appropriate for inter-faith work. Although Warner expresses belief in a higher power and provides quotes from popular Christian theologians such as C.S. Lewis, there is nothing overtly Christian about her writing. On that point, there were one or two exercises that I found to be a bit too “neo-pagan” for my taste, but I realize that is a matter of personal preference.
One other note of gentle constructive criticism: I wish that Warner would have provided both the name of piece from which she pulled the many quotes in Grief Day by Day as well as the name of the author. I wanted to read the entire piece from which some of these quotes were pulled but I was unable to find their source.
For example, Warner quotes from both Max Lucado and Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber (two of my favorite authors). Both of these theologians have written widely and I’m not sure which book or sermon she was quoting. This is a minor problem that could easily be fixed in future editions.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is grieving or has experienced loss in their own life. I would even consider providing this book (along with some other more faith based resources) to parishioners who have recently lost a loved one. I have even pulled from some of Warner’s writing for one of my own upcoming sermons about grief and loss.
Note: I received a free digital copy of this book for Kindle in exchange for an honest review.
I have lost count of the number of funerals over which I have presided. Although I know my loved ones have gone home to be with God, my heart still mourns for the passing of each and every one of them.
The author, Jan Warner, has a master’s degree in counseling as well as experience working with suicide prevention. I appreciated how Warner directly engaged with the writings of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. I studied the work of Kubler-Ross in seminary and I have found her work to be helpful in my own practice of pastoral care and counseling.
Warner argues that grief is both deeply complex and individual. Often, we talk about the stages of grief, but Warner reminds her readers that there is no “right” way to experience mourning. This is an important reminder in our rushed society. Often we encourage people to bury their grief and place a social stigma on intense mourning. As Warner points out, such denial can be deeply unhealthy for grieving individuals.
I would describe Grief Day By Day as a secular devotional. Warner provides a quote and brief meditation on grief for each day of the year. She has divided the book into 52 chapters (one for each week of the year) and centered each chapter around a weekly theme. Some of my favorite weeks were entitled, “Mood Swings/Grief Attacks,” “Physical Symptoms,” “Showing Up,” and “Helping Others.”
At the end of each week, Warner provides a guided meditation or exercise that the reader can use in order to help to tame their grief. I found many of these exercises to be surprisingly clever and effective. I plan to use some of these exercises in my own practice of pastoral care and counseling.
The reader can choose to work through the book in chronological order or they can dip in to the book randomly. Either way, the reader will find the quotes compelling and Warner’s short meditations to be deeply soulful.
It is clear from Warner’s sensitive writing that she has done a great deal of research in her field and that she has a heart for working with the bereaved. Warner’s writing, both on her website and her Facebook page, has offered comfort to many people who are grieving. Jan Warner was inspired to start “Grief Speaks Out,” and to make herself available to others who are grieving after experiencing the loss of her own husband.
The particularly delightful thing about this book is that it is short and well grounded in an understanding of psychology; therefore, even someone who does not enjoy reading could find solace in Warner’s writing.
This book would be appropriate for inter-faith work. Although Warner expresses belief in a higher power and provides quotes from popular Christian theologians such as C.S. Lewis, there is nothing overtly Christian about her writing. On that point, there were one or two exercises that I found to be a bit too “neo-pagan” for my taste, but I realize that is a matter of personal preference.
One other note of gentle constructive criticism: I wish that Warner would have provided both the name of piece from which she pulled the many quotes in Grief Day by Day as well as the name of the author. I wanted to read the entire piece from which some of these quotes were pulled but I was unable to find their source.
For example, Warner quotes from both Max Lucado and Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber (two of my favorite authors). Both of these theologians have written widely and I’m not sure which book or sermon she was quoting. This is a minor problem that could easily be fixed in future editions.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is grieving or has experienced loss in their own life. I would even consider providing this book (along with some other more faith based resources) to parishioners who have recently lost a loved one. I have even pulled from some of Warner’s writing for one of my own upcoming sermons about grief and loss.
Note: I received a free digital copy of this book for Kindle in exchange for an honest review.
May 8, 2019
Excellent book for any type of grief you are experiencing. I had a hard time with my grief after my grandmother passed. She lived 12 hours from me and I was fortunate enough to spend her last week with her and was there when she took her last breath. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I didn't care about much- even though I had no regrets and nothing was left unsaid between us. I knew I still needed help, so when I came across this book in my searching it seemed perfect.
This book is broken up into 52 weeks and each week has a theme: Loneliness, Anger, Exhaustion, Numbness, Fear, Time, Guilt, Abandonment, Despair, Considering Suicide, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, I've Lost my Way, Afterlife, Creating Meaning, Helping Others, etc. etc. etc. and each week has a quote and then a few sentences underneath by the author, Ms. Warner.
This book helped me so much. It was really a God-send. If you want the cliff notes version of this book my takeaway was this: One: deep grief means deep love. We were loved deeply and loved deeply in return, that is why we grieve. We miss his/her physical presence. Two: There is no wrong way to grieve nor is there a time-line when grief ends.
Thank you Ms. Warner for your book. It helped me more than you'll ever know. And for those reading this, I hope it will help you too.
This book is broken up into 52 weeks and each week has a theme: Loneliness, Anger, Exhaustion, Numbness, Fear, Time, Guilt, Abandonment, Despair, Considering Suicide, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, I've Lost my Way, Afterlife, Creating Meaning, Helping Others, etc. etc. etc. and each week has a quote and then a few sentences underneath by the author, Ms. Warner.
This book helped me so much. It was really a God-send. If you want the cliff notes version of this book my takeaway was this: One: deep grief means deep love. We were loved deeply and loved deeply in return, that is why we grieve. We miss his/her physical presence. Two: There is no wrong way to grieve nor is there a time-line when grief ends.
Thank you Ms. Warner for your book. It helped me more than you'll ever know. And for those reading this, I hope it will help you too.
February 8, 2019
Grief Day To Day is a self-help advice book. Written by Jan who lost her own husband, she uses her own journey through grief to help others.
The book has fifty-two theme weeks with exercises and quotes, and is a book to dip into at the reader’s own pace.
I liked the background information; Jan’s husband was a recovering alcoholic, but was always supportive to other drunks and addicts. Because of this, Jan was inspired to make herself available for other grieving people. She created a facebook group called ’Grief Speaks Out’ and it has more than 2.5 million followers. Grief comes in so many forms and everyone's path through it is different; Jan’s book offers readers help they might need in a gentle and relaxed format.
The book has fifty-two theme weeks with exercises and quotes, and is a book to dip into at the reader’s own pace.
I liked the background information; Jan’s husband was a recovering alcoholic, but was always supportive to other drunks and addicts. Because of this, Jan was inspired to make herself available for other grieving people. She created a facebook group called ’Grief Speaks Out’ and it has more than 2.5 million followers. Grief comes in so many forms and everyone's path through it is different; Jan’s book offers readers help they might need in a gentle and relaxed format.
October 24, 2021
I completed this as a weekly process and not daily, highlighting and adding notes through my tears and pain. I finished on day 363 and It was absolutely amazing.
I worked through the Grief Whispering activities repeatedly, taking so much comfort in them, especially in the first few months.
When you tragically lose a spouse it’s hard to connect to someone else… to find someone who can relate to your own pain. Jan spoke to me deeply in this book. I will
Refer to it often to get through the tough days.
I worked through the Grief Whispering activities repeatedly, taking so much comfort in them, especially in the first few months.
When you tragically lose a spouse it’s hard to connect to someone else… to find someone who can relate to your own pain. Jan spoke to me deeply in this book. I will
Refer to it often to get through the tough days.
August 29, 2019
Highly Recommended
For anyone who has lost in death one they love. It is masterfully structured with daily exercises in thoughts, reflections, repetitions, emotions, quotations by respected experienced individuals.
For anyone who has lost in death one they love. It is masterfully structured with daily exercises in thoughts, reflections, repetitions, emotions, quotations by respected experienced individuals.
March 24, 2019
It helped. Especially when I thought I was alone in my grief. Its worth your time.
March 14, 2020
I cant with this book. I am completely sympathetic over the authors loss as well as for our own hence the reason we purchased the book.
I just could not take anything away from it. My suggestion would have been for the author to write an ography along with self help strategies especially when its in a deep mental spot. I will look for others from this writer to see if they work for me.
I just could not take anything away from it. My suggestion would have been for the author to write an ography along with self help strategies especially when its in a deep mental spot. I will look for others from this writer to see if they work for me.
January 17, 2021
Really enjoyed the format of this book. You can read a quote per day, the sections that speak to you, or read it through more quickly. I did not perform any of the weekly actions since I read through this more quickly, but they do look like they might be helpful for many people. Many of the quotes really hit home, and I appreciated the author’s comments and POV on each of them.
July 15, 2020
A friend gifted me this book when I lost my fiance. It was helpful. It reads as a grief devotional and I found this helpful because concentration and reading is often affected in grief. Having to read shorter paragraphs were helpful in this case.
May 25, 2021
I purchased this book after my fiancé passed away in March. It's very helpful. Would recommend to anyone who lost a loved one.
July 15, 2022
I started reading this book after I lost my wife. It was an enormous support to me. So much written there was exactly as I felt. I always heard that time heals but after my loss I just couldn't believe that I can ever heal. Jan Warner put it very properly: you never completely overcome the loss, you just learn to live with it. You learn to live with the thought that you will never see and talk with the person you loved and this thought will lie in the corner of your mind. Occasionally, while running your errands, you will think this thought with a quite sadness but from time to time this thought will turn to a knife piercing your whole soul and you cry. And then this thought becomes again a quite sadness until the next time. I learnt from this book that you shouldn't see this process as something wrong but as a prove that you had something wonderful in your life: a great love that will stay with you till your last day. I started reading this book shortly after the funeral and read it very slowly: 2 - 3 pages a day. For me this was a proper pace to absorb it. Great book.
August 17, 2023
"Grief Day by Day: Simple Practices and Daily Guidance for Living With Loss" is a compassionate companion for those grappling with loss. Its daily reflections and exercises acknowledge the fluid nature of grief, offering solace and practical support. The book's weekly themes provide a profound exploration of grief's stages, weaving quotes, meditations, and musings. What sets it apart is its interactive approach, inviting readers to actively engage in healing through writing, drawing, and more. This handbook is a source of hope and resilience, guiding readers towards healing one day at a time.
September 23, 2020
I have found this really helpful and comforting. I chose it based on online reviews of various grief books and it has managed to exceed my expectations. It can be read through at any pace or in any order, or dipped into. It covers so many different aspects of grief and really makes you feel like you are not alone at what can be a really lonely time. Highly recommend.
November 1, 2020
This was a good book in the sense that some of the quotes really hit home and made me feel less alone in my grieving process. The exercises, for me were not really appealing and didn’t feel like something I would find helpful or cathartic. I know they could be helpful for others. I would still highly recommend this book for those fresh in their grief and willing to accept the recommendation.
August 4, 2020
This is great for those grieving. Quotes with short explanations for the day. Divided into weekly segments that you can start anytime. Sectioned off by categories of grief feelings. I will continue to read daily.
March 31, 2022
This book provided me so much comfort and reassurance when I was so lost and alone. I will reread this over and over because it validated so many of my emotions.
January 12, 2023
Inspirational, comforting, a day by day guide supporting the grid process
January 21, 2023
I rate this book 7/10. Thus booked leaped me so much handle and understand grief. I have read it about 8-12 times alsys going back for certain quotes and stories
February 19, 2024
My dad passed away Feb 1, 2020 from small cell lung cancer. Doctors suggested he would have like 3mo to go (it’s very aggressive) but my dad tried everything and anything that he could and it spread to his brain after 3yrs. No matter how much time you think you have to prepare for a loved ones death, it doesn’t get any easier. Just like I think time doesn’t necessarily help heal anything. You will get stronger and will learn how to adapt, but you will also have your moments of pure misery. Oddly enough, I purchased this book after I came out of my grief blackout months and months after his death. It still didn’t feel real and I really struggled finding any comfort for the first few years. It wasn’t until recently, I started feeling true joy again. It was bizarre to feel so happy and still so sad. I don’t love a lot of the cliches about grief but I enjoyed the quotes in this book. I started reading this book here and there and then focused on trying to read it every day. It was hard for me to remember where I was with each quote. At first, I would journal with the book to express my own feelings and perspective before reading the author’s interpretation. Then, I started reading one week per day and it helped me get through the book faster.
August 5, 2023
My mother passed in February of 2023. My husband made the decision I was “grieving wrong” and yelled at me for it just a few days after my mothers funeral. I came across this book after deciding I can grieve however I want, and this book solidified it. Im thankful for this authors advice, knowledge and thoughtful prompts to contemplate for a day or so and then come back to the book. It is quite spouse loss oriented, but it helped me with my grief for my mom.
March 10, 2024
Unusual but really helpful book
None of the usual dry explanations. Lots of thinking lots of action lots of self motivated thinking on topics I never would have previously connected with grief.
A book of many small incremental gifts to build into what you can in this journey of grief
None of the usual dry explanations. Lots of thinking lots of action lots of self motivated thinking on topics I never would have previously connected with grief.
A book of many small incremental gifts to build into what you can in this journey of grief
June 4, 2025
A really helpful book, especially if you are grieving intensely. I was grieving the loss of my parents, and it has been several years now, and the grief has lessened. So some of the thoughts in this book really resonated, and some seemed over the top. Depending on where you are in your grief journey, this book can be helpful, soul-saving, or just a little irritating.
October 25, 2025
This book simply didn’t give me what I was looking for. It’s well-suited for readers who want to connect with the raw and difficult emotions of grief, as the author shares many heartfelt quotes and reflections from those darker moments. Personally, I was looking for something more hopeful and uplifting. It just wasn’t the right fit for me.
April 8, 2023
It's a very beautiful book for those who are grieving. I found the opening days and weeks of the book interesting. It can get a bit samey so it began to bore a little. Nonetheless, the Grief Whisperer excises are good and helpful.
October 22, 2024
Lost a star for not iving a bibliography of works cited.
A great book for what it is...daily quotes on grief that make me feel not alone. Some might not apply to me or speak to me, but others do and in a big and helpful way.
A great book for what it is...daily quotes on grief that make me feel not alone. Some might not apply to me or speak to me, but others do and in a big and helpful way.
December 26, 2021
Easy read
It.was very good just felt it dragged a little. Did have good advice and seemed helpful to me. Anyone going through the steps it will be good.
It.was very good just felt it dragged a little. Did have good advice and seemed helpful to me. Anyone going through the steps it will be good.
February 20, 2022
Such a beautiful book and a gift of help and hope for those of us grieving! I can look back at it anytime I need something uplifting.
August 13, 2022
Has some good quotes, easy to read little by little, hate why I read it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews