This is a list of some of the books I have read and found helpful. It is not a complete listing and I will be adding books as I continue to look for good books on grief. I choose only to list books that are by Christian authors. It is not that other books on grief cannot and will not help you,but I believe that since we grieve with hope we need to hear from those who offer real hope and assurance of Christ and His gift of everlasting life.
For those in the middle of fighting the last final battle…..two books…less are written on this than grief….
* The Journey Home by Bill Bright {David read this and found it to be really helpful to him]
* School of Dying Graces By Felex { this book is an incredible book on the last journey for both the caretaker and the one making the journey]
For those in “The Valley of the Shadows of Grief”
Most Well known Book on Grief
*A Grief Observed by CS Lewis [ I have found many men who have found this book helpful,but few women…I myself stayed away from it,but David’s friend found it most helpful…so I put in on the list as a famous book on grief]
*Good Grief By Westberg [ this was a very good book,but hard not an easy read…people in grief have a hard time focusing…I actually read parts of this book before David died…a friend sent me excepts]
*Experiencing Grief By N. Norman Wright [This was an extremely helpful book,
it is small and it is factual…others have said the same thing…it will say..You will have problems with your short term memory..this is normal and will improve. Finding out that some of the things I was experiencing like short term memory issues, focusing issues, decision making issues and the list goes on were normal were very freeing for me. To know that something is normal!! …]
For Children in Grief:
* Children and Grief-Helping your child understand death by Joey O Conner [ O Conner’s book was the best book I’ve read on children and grief] * Helping Children Grieve By Theresa Huntley
* When Children Grieve By Matthew
* When a Child You Love is Grieving -By Harold Ivan Smith…}
Spousal Grief
*When Your Soul Aches By Lois Mowday Rabey [this book was very good and I recommend it to anyone. Her chapters are short and she deals with issues that go unspoken many times…like the need for male attention and guarding your heart This was
the first book I read and it really helped set the tone for how I would grieve.
*The Path of Loneliness By Elisabeth Elliot { this book was better than any book on “grief” she addresses widows along with single women and divorced women. Most grief books, for obvious reasons talk about US it is about us…how I feel, what I am going through, how God can help Me…this book asks What can you offer God and what does God expect of you?? She turns it around and it to was freeing… I would recommend this book to women going through separation or divorce as well as widows and those struggling with being single who have never married.
*A Grace Disguised By Sittser {This is a hard read emotionally,but it was helpful…he lost three members of his family in a car accident.}
When you lose a child:
* Holding on to Hope–it is a beautiful book and touches on some of what all of us feel in grief,but is for those who have lost a small child or baby.
*From Grief to Glory- Spiritual journeys of a mourning parent { I have not read the entire book,just flipped]
Friend Grief
{friend grief is the least written about, everyone seems to buy into the idea that a friend is not as hard to grieve as a spouse,child,brother,or parent. In reality especially in the Christian world, a friend may very well be closer than a brother…I have seen this a few of David’s closest friends. They are expected to just get over it and they are grieving David as if he was their brother..and of course he was in Christ.
* When Your Friend Dies By Harold Ivan Smith.
He also writes a book called
* When you don’t know what to say How to Help Your Grieving Friends
*Grieving the Death of a Friend..Harold Ivan Smith..[pretty much the same book as When your friend Dies,but if the friend is dying it deals with how to work with the family in the dying process and the funeral. It also elaborates more on the smaller book]
Grief Books
* Moments For Those Who Have Lost a Loved One By Lois Mowday Rabey [Excellent book]
*The Wind that Destroys and Heals by Stephen Broyles
*Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love [Daily thoughts} ByRayomond R. MItsc
and Lynne Brooksed
*When Grief Breaks Your Heart by Moore
For those in Grief daily devotional books like Streams in the Desert and My
Utmost for His Highest help keep God the focus
Those who see God as letting them down in their loss–
*When God doesn’t make sense by Dobson
*Why By An Graham Lotz
*Where is God when it Hurts? By Yancey
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