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When You Don't Know What to Say: How to Help Your Grieving Friends
Your friend has been devastated by the loss of a loved one. Do you care enough to rub shoulders with that grief? Do you care enough to be inconvenienced? Do you care enough to put aside cliche condolences and stick close through a long grieving process? You can never ’fix’ an individual’s grief. But you can wash a sink full of dishes. You can listen. You can take the kids to the park. You can go along on a cemetery visit. Sharing another’s grief is not about ’fixing it’-it’s about showing up. Harold Ivan Smith, popular speaker and grief educator, guides you in responding with your heart. He shows you tangible, meaningful ways to make a significant difference as you journey through grief with someone you care about.
96 pages, Paperback
Published April 22, 2002
22 people want to read
About the author
Harold Ivan Smith
67 books7 followersHarold Ivan Smith, 1947-
Harold Ivan Smith, MA, ED.S., FT, DMin, is a national speaker, noted author, experienced counselor and grief educator. He has presented bereavement workshops across the country, training more than 20,000 professionals and lay caregivers during a thirty-year career. Seminar and conference attendees rave about interactions with Harold Ivan, and his insightful gifts of helping, healing, and facilitating grief.
A prolific writer, he has authored dozens of books and resources, included best seller, A Decembered Grief: Living with Loss When Others are Celebrating. Also among his titles are Griefkeeping: Learning How Long Grief Lasts; ABCs of Healthy Bereavement; Grievers Ask, When You Don’t Know What to Say; When Your Friend Dies; Finding Your Way to Say Goodbye: Comfort for the Dying and Those Who Care for Them; and Grieving the Death of a Father. His newest book, Using Biographical and Historical Grief Narratives With The Bereaving (Routledge).
He is also an authority of the griefs of American Presidents and First Ladies. He facilitates Grief Gatherings, an innovative storytelling program at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, where he is a member of the teaching faculty. Harold Ivan is active in the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and is designated a Fellow in Thanatology (FT).
Harold Ivan Smith, MA, ED.S., FT, DMin, is a national speaker, noted author, experienced counselor and grief educator. He has presented bereavement workshops across the country, training more than 20,000 professionals and lay caregivers during a thirty-year career. Seminar and conference attendees rave about interactions with Harold Ivan, and his insightful gifts of helping, healing, and facilitating grief.
A prolific writer, he has authored dozens of books and resources, included best seller, A Decembered Grief: Living with Loss When Others are Celebrating. Also among his titles are Griefkeeping: Learning How Long Grief Lasts; ABCs of Healthy Bereavement; Grievers Ask, When You Don’t Know What to Say; When Your Friend Dies; Finding Your Way to Say Goodbye: Comfort for the Dying and Those Who Care for Them; and Grieving the Death of a Father. His newest book, Using Biographical and Historical Grief Narratives With The Bereaving (Routledge).
He is also an authority of the griefs of American Presidents and First Ladies. He facilitates Grief Gatherings, an innovative storytelling program at Saint Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, where he is a member of the teaching faculty. Harold Ivan is active in the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and is designated a Fellow in Thanatology (FT).
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 20, 2015
Resourceful.
Pastors enjoy a privilege open to no other professional: the privilege of entering the homes of families during their very intimate experiences. Harold Ivan Smith calls pastors and lay ministers “grief sharers”. They are ones who are looking for opportunities to actively care, whether it be a listening ear or washing a sink full of dishes. It is not an issue of “fixing” but rather “showing up” to offer a helping hand and come alongside.
Pastors enjoy a privilege open to no other professional: the privilege of entering the homes of families during their very intimate experiences. Harold Ivan Smith calls pastors and lay ministers “grief sharers”. They are ones who are looking for opportunities to actively care, whether it be a listening ear or washing a sink full of dishes. It is not an issue of “fixing” but rather “showing up” to offer a helping hand and come alongside.
April 21, 2013
A wonderful, quick read that may help the reader with his/her grieving as much as it helps him/her help others through their grieving.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews