Understanding and Coping with Grief

by Joanne Cacciatore, The Great Courses

Grief remains one of the great mysteries that each of us will face one day. Even when grief is expected, it can be overwhelmingly paralyzing in its power. Coping with the day-to-day pain of loss can seem impossible. And everyone copes with grief differently—there is no right way, timeline, or process guaranteed to make someone feel better, so it’s difficult to understand in others—and sometimes even in yourself.
Over the course of 10 lectures, Dr. Joanne Cacciatore, a research professor at Arizona State University and founder of the MISS Foundation, explores the nuances of grief and grieving, particularly within our often grief-avoidant culture.

Dr. Cacciatore has been counseling grieving families and researching traumatic grief for more than two decades. She also has firsthand experience with this subject, as a mother of five children: four who walk and one who soars. Through this eye-opening series, she provides a sensitive and empathic approach to the subject, with emotional, physical, social, cognitive, and spiritual insights that can help make sense of this complicated and overwhelming emotion. Additionally, she offers several tools and exercises to help you practice healthy coping mechanisms, enabling you to face and embrace the grieving process.

Genres: Psychology, Audiobook, Grief, Mental Health

4 pages, Audible Audio

Published December 8, 2022

Reviews

[Becca Rampe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Jo continues to explore grief in profound ways that makes it digestible and helps you feel grief to inhabit and make continued meaning of your life after loss. Her ideas and concepts support you in much needed ways.

[Lenny Husen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5, rounding up, Audido book, narrated by the author whose voice comes across as loud and strident at times, so I had to keep adjusting the volume downward and the speed I increased at times to 1.2.
What I liked: this is a book I have already recommended to 3 different people--this is why it deserves a 5 even though parts of it were flawed.
THIS IS A GREAT BOOK ABOUT GRIEF AND LIVES UP TO THE TITLE.
What I liked--the author is a truly admirable person who lost a child (she has 5 children, 1 sadly died). She started a ranch retreat for rescue animals and people struggling with grief can do there. She has done research on grief.
Really liked all the suggestions (some of which I hadn't heard before, there were so many that the reader can choose what fits them best), I loved the emphasis not on "moving on" but finding meaning in living on and living with Grief.
Most people have no f#ck#ng clue what to say to someone who has endured a loss (even the loss of a job or pet --let alone a human being) and he author gives valuable support for taking as long as it takes to grieve and process, and validates the Griever's experience.
However--the author must have written some chapters later on and put those in the book when they should have been edited out--- she becomes enraged harshly critical and defensive--so I sped up those parts.
No religion here and no atheism either--she writes the book allowing for some people's beliefs in an After Life or Reunion with loved ones--and for other's people's beliefs in no life after this one.
I liked that aspect of including everyone who is suffering with grief without pushing a point of view on how to handle it or what to believe.
If you are grieving, this is an extremely valuable use of your time--to listen or read if there is a paper or kindle version.

[Dania · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the practice exercises. Some of the techniques she teaches I thought were great for overall mental health; however, most of the exercises were not specific to grief. I didn’t like the vilification of those who haven’t endured grief vs those who have, felt like “us vs them.” I also don’t think it’s helpful when those who are grieving need to feel more connected and supported, not more isolated and angry. Perhaps two separate books might be needed- one on how to cope with grief on an individual level and one on how society can improve our responses to grief. A lecture on how to find or build a community of support particularly for those who feel very isolated might be more helpful than describing all the ways those around us are incompetent in helping our recovery.The lectures were primarily anecdotal and peer recovery based, overall felt like more tangible skills or comprehensive understanding of why grief shows up and how we can cope with it from many different evidence informed lenses would have been more helpful.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, very poetic and profound book. There's plenty of research and stories. She lost a baby. She has an animal rescue organization where grieving people can interact with the animals for healing. Mentions cues as apposed to triggers and how to manage them. Mentions intergenerational grief. Barefoot hiking, plenty of yoga, mindfulness, meditation. She is apparently also a Zen priest. I have read it three times and expect to read it several more times.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this comforting. Rather than feeling like I need to hurry up and get back to 'normal' I now feel like it's OK to embrace the grieving process.

[Cynthia Larson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Moo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece for those who are grieving

[Ming Chen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some beautiful and profound parts, some that revert to downright paganism.