Opening to Grief: Finding Your Way from Loss to Peace

by Claire B. Willis, Marnie Crawford Samuelson, Megan Devine (Foreword)

“The book helps you meet loss on its own terms, not as a problem to be solved but as a sign of deep love.” — Megan Devine, author of It's OK That You're Not OK

All of us experience loss. Some of us have lost a spouse, or a child, our parents, a beloved pet, a dear friend, or neighbor. In the pandemic, we have lost hundreds of thousands of lives in the United States and around the world. Many of us have lost our livelihoods. All of us have lost our familiar daily routines and textures of work, family, and community. And the losses are not over.
Opening to Grief is a companion to this tender time. With the demeanor and tone of a loving friend, the authors offer an invitation to grieve fully, to turn toward your emotions and experiences however they arise, and to follow your own path toward healing.

The book explores the deep truth that grief and love are richly intertwined. Because we love, we grieve. And when we fully feel our sorrow, we open to loving ourselves and other beings more deeply.

Genres: Grief, Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook, Adult

141 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 12, 2020

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So refreshing to read a self-help book that doesn’t insist that religion and spirituality are the keys to dealing with loss and grief.

[Skylis]

brief book on strategies and advice for processing and being with grief. grief is treated generally, the advice given works for many types of losses, from loved ones (including pets) to jobs to life changes. free from reliance on western religions for advice, with the intent to serve practitioners of any religion or none.

plenty of tools offered, many following mindfulness and meditation approaches to emotional awareness and processing. at times, this felt overly reliant on meditations, but for a short book, the kindness offered and encouraged was worthwhile. those whose bandwidth is best matched with short books will find this a solid option with actionable suggestions. further reading resources are plentiful and many are referred to and given context in parts 1-3.

the audiobook edition delivers content in a peaceful, gentle voice that is soothing. sections blurred together due to short pauses between content and chapters titles or section headers. this would have benefited from more pauses between book segments. while listening, i tended to lose focus, so the calm voice may be difficult for some to stay tuned into. i appreciated that the full resource lists were included in the audiobook edition— this section of a book can often be excluded, making the material inaccessible to audiobook readers.

would recommend.

[Ana-Maria Petre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took away one star because I already knew many of the concepts introduced in this book. But it is a good introduction to how to deal with grief and its many faces.

[Jenn McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was short and sweet. I related to a lot of things in this book and really appreciate the honesty as well as vulnerability in it.

[Amber Manley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like how Religion wasn’t a focus of the book. I found the meditations and mantras to be very useful as a future therapist.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Requested this book from the library the day that the family dog died. The book came in a few days later & at that point, I was a little unsure. Do I want to keep living in a space of grief? I still hurt but am maybe starting to heal. (Or maybe my mind is tricking me into thinking I'm healing, which could be the mechanism to start the healing.) Do I really want to go back to a space to grief? But I am glad that I read this book. Fortunately, it did not send me on a spiral back into grief. It gave good suggestions on how to deal with grief & how to think about it, which I hope can help in the healing process for the current bout of grief I am going through & can hopefully help with any other rounds of grief that will come my way.

[David Dunlap · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are many interesting things to be gleaned from this book. As the authors indicate, everyone grieves in his/her own way -- and must grieve according to his/her own timeline. I made note of the fact that many mourners find the SECOND year after a loss more difficult than the first (since all the necessary arrangements have been taken care of by that time). The authors mention neuropsychologist Rick Hanson's observation that our human brains are wired toward negativity, and thus it is more difficult to internalize positive experiences and have them 'stick.' The very real differences between 'moving forward' and 'moving on' are delineated. Etc. -- These are valuable insights. All that having been said, however, I was frustrated by the almost exclusive focus on the horizontal in dealing with grief...and the voyages within oneself through meditation. In the end, I remain skeptical as to the ultimate permanence of such views. (YMMV, of course!)

[T Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comforting, succinct resource

In only 100 pages you will find solace, peace, gratitude, love, and yes, a way toward joy. There is much we need to learn about the grieving process. We can’t “fix” it, we need to feel through it. This book provides insight and tools to do just that. There are many challenges in our world with grief appearing in many forms from many sources: loss of people, pets, job, daily routine, self, etc. Opening to Grief brings much peace to the mind, ease of the heart, and rest for the physical body. A quick and oh so necessary read now, for everyone. It’s not something you wait to read after experiencing some type of loss, but rather a resource you have already read, one you know you can go back to for further insight and comfort. Highly recommended.

[Maddie Ostergaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one. It helped me open and soften so I can move through my grief. I recommend this book to anyone, whether or not you are going through an obvious, capital g Grief. I believe we are all grieving, all of the time. If you are anything like me, there are a million little griefs I put off because it was embarrassing or I didn’t have time or I didn’t give myself the compassion to prioritize my more vulnerable feelings. It’s okay to address those emotions that are swallowed or on pause. I promise after you move through them, you will feel lighter and more at peace. Whatever you are experiencing, I send you love and wish you luck. Take your time. ❤️

I will be returning to this book throughout my life as I need the courage to face my more painful emotions and experiences.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very brief, and thus very manageable, guide to finding one’s way through pain and heartbreak from any event or source. Includes accessible, timeless practices and many recommendations for further reading. The non-denominational, mindfulness-based approach is very appealing to me and would likely be helpful to anyone. I took off one star because I thought the section with answers to common questions was a bit thin. But this book would be a great starting point for many.

[Rohham Farzadnia · Rating 3 out of 5]

قصدم اينه كه از «سوگ» بيشتر بدونم و با توجه به محدوديت كتاب‌های در دسترس، با بررسى يه‌سرى مشخصات ساده، با ديد آسون‌گیرانه، اين كتاب رو انتخاب كردم.


كتاب چندبخش داره كه به نظرم مفيدترين بخشش، بخش ِ سوالات رايج هست.

اگر تمرين‌های مديتيشن رو انجام مى‌دید، این كتاب ميتونه براتون جالب باشه. اما براى منى كه از اين فضا فعلا فاصله دارم، آنچنان كاربردى نبود.

در مجموع با توجه به شرايطى كه گفتم، اين كتاب شايد بهترين انتخاب براى خوندن از سوگ و آشنا شدن باهاش، نباشه.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short but meaningful book. I actually appreciate that it’s short, since my “normal” attention span for reading hasn’t yet returned after the loss of my father. Lots of good tips here, including being gentle with yourself, practicing mindfulness and finding your own path to healing through creative outlets.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short book indeed, intended as a self-help guide to those of us unfortunately suffering in our grief for the loss of a loved one. It has quite a lot of repetition in it too which makes it even shorter. I found little new material here having already read a few similar books, but at the same time it's still helpful to the newcomer, with lots of positive affirmation along the way.

[Sara Budarz · Rating 3 out of 5]

According to my library app, I read this book back in April - and yet I remember nothing, not even the reading part. So clearly it didn't offer a lot in terms of dealing with grief. But perhaps that's also the nature of grief, that it makes you forget a lot that happens in those early months of trying to cope. So maybe good, maybe meh? Can't say.

[Marie Polega · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this book covered some topics I haven't seen in other grief books. The short chapters would make it easier for a grieving person to read. I also liked the suggestions for action at the end of each chapter.

[Breann Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read, but a meaningful one. I passed it along to a friend

[Lindsay Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flashes of insight interspersed with passages so banal I wondered how they were the same book.

[Emily C. H. Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really like the poetry at the end of each chapter in the first part of the book. It was excellent reflection.

[Jayme · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Earla Legault · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read this once already, will read through and take notes this second time before I return it to the public library and buy it for myself. Every hospice needs to have this book to lend out!

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written. I didn't get as much from it as I had hoped but I think it is a worthwhile contribution to this topic. There were certainly some nuggets to consider and ideas of things to try.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. A very light grief book during a very heavy period of grief.