As We Grieve: Discoveries of Grace in Sorrow

by Jan Groft

Those mourning the profound absence of a loved one know the surges well. The sudden onslaught of tears. The relentless an empty bed, a deserted garden, a vacant hammock dangling between trees. In As We Discoveries of Grace in Sorrow , Jan Groft offers tender reprieve by weaving together the voices of everyday people who, in the process of grieving, found hope, unveiling nine healing gifts of grace that can be discovered amidst the darkness. Individual chapters focus on specific gifts--memories, humor, strength, discovery, faith, art, wisdom, gratitude, and community--inspiring those who are grieving to recognize and embrace similar possibilities in their own grief journeys. Praise for As We Grieve : ''Jan Groft . . . has written a winner. These are true stories of heavy hearts, which somehow, through faith, find a way to keep beating with joy.''
-- Barbara Cloud , retired Pittsburgh Post Gazette columnist and author, By-Line '' As We Grieve is a book of marvelous depth, as well as opportunities for people to approach grieving from different points of view. It is about listening to a still small voice, experiencing God's presence, and encountering an incredible grace.''
-- Tom Dodge, BCC , Director of Spiritual Care, Hospice of Lancaster County
- 2010 Living Now Book Award
- 2010 ForeWord Reviews Award (Body, Mind & Spirit)

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Jan Groft is the author of JOY CHEST: TREASURES FOR THE JOURNEY AHEAD (Graham House Books, 2018), ARTICHOKES & CITY CHICKEN: REFLECTIONS ON FAITH, GRIEF, AND MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN COOKING (River Grove Books, 2015), the award-winning book AS WE GRIEVE: DISCOVERIES OF GRACE IN SORROW (Emerald Book Group, 2010), and a spiritual memoir, RIDING THE DOG: MY FATHER'S JOURNEY HOME (FaithWalk, 2004). Jan holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College and a BA from Dickinson College. She lives and writes in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Please visit Jan Groft, Author on Facebook.

Reviews

[P.J. Lazos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our society is obsessed with the search for youth, and so unhinged by the notion of death that we take Herculean steps to keep people alive, sometimes using methods that defy logic. Not so many generations ago, people died at home, surrounded by their loved ones who nursed and fed and cared for them during their last days. Today people die in the hospital, surrounded by the whirl and hum of high tech gadgetry and if they’re lucky, the occasional relative. Death is no longer the spiritual experience it once was.
Lucky for us there are people like Jan Groft who, through her writing and example, help us to bridge the ever-widening gap between life and death. Prior to writing As We Grieve, Discoveries of Grace in Sorrow, Groft conducted half a year of research, reaching out to friends and loved ones with a single question: what is your most poignant memory of the death of a loved one? In doing so, she created a sacred space for dozens and dozens of people to chronicle one of the most significant events of their lives. Even now that the book is published, Groft is still collecting anecdotes, listening with an almost preternatural ability to people describe the pain and the process.
For anyone who has lost a loved one or is currently experiencing that most profound emotion we call grief, As We Grieve will provide, if not complete relief -- because only time and grace can do that -- at least a bandaid with a big old squirt of the stuff that takes the sting away.

[Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I am not grieving now I can see that this book would be a source of comfort for me if I was. It isn't complicated and the lessons within can be taken bit by bit or all at once. You can be sure that I will be revisiting this book when I am grieving.