Grief Thoughts: Brief Anecdotes About Profound Loss

by Issa M. Mas

Grief Thoughts seeks to share -- through humor, vulnerability, and a subtly Buddhist framework -- ways in which grieving (while excruciating), can bring profound emotional and psychological realizations, familial insights, and ultimately, personal growth, even when the process is messy. It is the author's love letter to those who are in the thick of grieving and feel like they are doing an awful job of it all. Whether you are recently bereaved, grappling with an extended period of complex grief, or love someone who is intensely grieving, Grief Thoughts seeks to help shed light on the reality that grief isn't linear, and is often messier than anyone would like it to be -- and while there is never a neat and tidy resolution when it comes to grief outside of Hollywood films, there can be an astounding level of healing and an unfolding of extraordinary transformation when you realize that the only way out of the constant pain is right through the tender heart of it.

226 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 17, 2021

Reviews

[Megan Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Balm For The Grieving Soul

This book is raw and real. Mas opens her wounds for us as well as her heart. You take the journey with her from the bottom of the well of grief to healing, touching on every stop along the way.

As someone who has fairly recently experienced profound loss, I found myself nodding my head along with many entries. And that is why this book was written—to shine a light on grief, something we don’t do well, and to say “this is what it’s like, and it’s okay and you can heal.”

The writing is excellent; Mas has skills. She can make you laugh and cry in the same paragraph. You root for her. She feels like an long-time friend.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who has loved and lost, whether it’s a lover, a friend, or a parent.

[Cori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journey through Grief

A journey through grief told with with naked honesty. The reader time travels through six years of growth and a coming to terms that grief, with all it’s sharp edges, never really goes away. We learn to live with it and eventually we go from “feeling their absence to feeling they are with us all the time” … The edges become softer.

[Stephanie Gilmore, · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up GRIEF THOUGHTS because I wanted to support the author, of course, but also because grief is so complicated (and never linear). Grief isn’t limited to those who have passed; we can grieve the loss of people who are no longer in our lives and moments lost or stolen that you know you can’t get back. Issa Mas, in her wisdom and wit, has given us some important things to think about as we grieve and how we grieve. This book is an emotional read — laughter and tears will come out of your face in equal force and often at the same time. But it’s a read we all need.