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SevenPonds / Books to Lend Insight / Favorite Books About Grief & Loss

Favorite Books About Grief & Loss

These beloved titles have touched countless hearts and offer wisdom from authors who truly understand loss. Whether you’re newly bereaved, supporting a grieving friend, or years into your journey, these favorite books exploring grief provide comfort and insight when you need it most.

"In Lieu of Flowers"

By Shawna Lemay

Award-winning novelist, essayist and poet Shawna Lemay read a friend’s father’s obituary on Facebook a few years ago. Hi…

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“The Book That Wrote Me: 8 Steps to Remember, Recreate, and Liber…

By Carmen Ontanu, George Floriceanu, Gabriela Floriceanu, and Claudia Stroe

All people have a story to tell, whether they know it or not: This is the premise of “The Book That Wrote Me: 8 Steps to…

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“Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of …

By Jessica Roux

Jessica Roux is a Nashville-based freelance illustrator who is a self-proclaimed plant and animal enthusiast. She is the…

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"Making Friends with Death"

By Laura Pritchett

Laura Pritchett, author of five novels, “came from a chaotic, strange, ranch-y, farm-y, science-y family,” which made he…

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"A Heart That Works"

By Rob Delaney

In “A Heart That Works,” Rob Delaney manages to do what seems impossible: survive the death of his toddler son; write a …

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cover of Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye

By J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye” frequently appears on lists, such as “Top 10 Books You Were Forced to Read in School.” Many Amer…

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grieving while black cover

"Grieving While Black" by

By Breeshia Wade

In “Grieving While Black,” Breeshia Wade invites the reader to explore the ways that grief and a desire to prevent loss …

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"When Words Are Not Enough

By Jane Harris and Jimmy Edmonds

Jane Harris and Jimmy Edmonds are on a mission to “change the landscape and language of grief.” The Good Grief Project i…

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"Clap When You Land"

By Elizabeth Acevedo

In 2018, Elizabeth Acevedo took the stage as one of the most important new voices in young adult literature. Her first n…

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Cover of the book "The Language of Love and Loss

“The Language of Loss"

By Barbara Abercrombie

When author Barbara Abercrombie’s husband died, she found the condolence messages of friends and loved ones hollow and m…

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"Another Brooklyn"

By Jacqueline Woodson

Jacqueline Woodson, winner of the National Book Award, took her own youth, which she chronicled in her memoir-in-verse, …

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“The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work …

By Francis Weller

In “The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief,” psychologist Francis Weller encourages re…

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Where Reasons End

By Yiyun Li

Whatever state one is in when reading Yiyun Li’s 2019 novel “Where Reasons End,” it is a heartbreaking force of fiction….

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“A Grief Observed”

By C.S. Lewis

Suppressing one’s emotions was “the lesson I was most strongly taught,” admits C.S. Lewis in his journals, which are col…

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"Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change"

By Maggie Smith

Maggie Smith is an award-winning author of several books of poetry. One of her most well-known works, “Good Bones,” a st…

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“Alone Together: Love, Grief and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19,…

By Jennifer Haupt

What do NPR’s poet-in-residence Kwame Alexander, Somali-American poet and essayist Sadia Hassan and “House of Sand and F…

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“Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy”

By Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

Sheryl Sandberg had been married to her husband, Dave Goldberg, for eleven years when he collapsed during a vacation to …

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“A Place In My Heart: When Our Pets Die”

By Barbara Karnes

Barbara Karnes is an internationally renowned speaker, author and educator on the dying process and end of life. Her mos…

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"It's Ok That You're Not OK"

By Megan Devine

“It’s Ok That You’re Not OK: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture that Doesn’t Understand” is psychotherapist and grief a…

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“Our Souls at Night”

By Kent Haruf

My expectation for “Our Souls at Night” was to be inspired to find love later in life, especially after the death of a s…

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book cover of when breath becomes air showing a feather falling

“When Breath Becomes Air”

By Paul Kalanithi

Paul Kalanithi’s cancer became the impetus for his bestselling memoir, “When Breath Becomes Air” – fulfilling his lifelo…

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Cover of the book H Is for Hawk

"H is for Hawk"

By Helen MacDonald

Helen MacDonald’s memoir “H is for Hawk” is a beautiful story of grief and healing interwoven with a gripping account of…

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"No Happy Endings"

By Nora McInerny

Nora McInerny’s “No Happy Endings” reflects on the complexity of finding love after loss and creating a second chapter a…

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"Bullets into Bells"

By Brian Clements, Alexandra Teague and Dean Rader

ormer Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Captain Mark Kelly write in the foreword of “Bullets into Bells,”…

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"Let Me Grieve but not Forever"

By Verdell Davis

On June 28, 1987, four Christian men were returning in a private plane from a Focus on the Family Men’s retreat that had…

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“Staying Alive: A Love Story”

By Laura B. Hayden

“Staying Alive: A Love Story” by Laura B. Hayden, is part love story, part memoir. A short book, just 125 pages long, it…

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"Poems of Mourning"

By Peter Washington

“Poems of Mourning” is a volume from the Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets Series, which, in turn, is part and parcel of E…

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"Housebreaking"

By Dan Pope

“Housebreaking,” has all the makings of a good beach read – and so much more. Since the main characters and their suppor…

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"Yoga For Grief and Loss"

By Karla Helbert

I was quite curious about “Yoga for Grief and Loss” by Karla Helbert. Before picking it up I had never read or even seen…

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"The Grief Recovery Handbook"

By John W. James and Russell Friedman

“The Grief Recovery Handbook: The Action Program for Moving Beyond Death, Divorce, and Other Losses Including Health, Ca…

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"There Is No Good Card For This: What To Say And Do When Life Is …

By Dr. Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell

“There Is No Good Card for This: What to Say and Do When LIfe is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to People You Love” is a gem o…

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"A Buddhist Grief Observed"

By Guy Newland

In the tradition of “A Grief Observed,” C.S. Lewis’s famous reflections on grief and loss in the wake of his wife’s deat…

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black book cover of bearing the unbearable with a plant in the center

"Bearing the Unbearable"

By “Bearing the Unbearable” by Joanne Cacciatore, Ph.D.

Joanne Cacciatore, Ph.D. is a researcher, educator, grief counselor and Zen priest who for over 20 years has helped her …

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"Fireflies"

By David Morrell

“Fireflies: A Father’s Tale of Love and Loss” by David Morrell tells the story of David’s grief at the death of his 15-y…

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"Flying in Place"

By Susan Palwick

“Flying in Place” by Susan Palwick is a novel about coming to grips with trauma and death…and with life as well. All her…

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"The Art of Racing in the Rain"

By Garth Stein

Understanding a person’s outlook on death seems easy enough. After all, here at SevenPonds, it is our priority to encour…

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"The Fatherless Daughter Project: Understanding Our Losses and Re…

By Denna Babul, R.N., and Karin Luise, Ph.D

Building on interviews with more than 5,000 women who have lost their fathers due to death, divorce, neglect or abandonm…

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"The Time Traveler’s Wife"

By Audrey Niffenegger

Audrey Niffenegger’s 2003 novel “The Time Traveler’s Wife” is an American contemporary best-seller for adults and young-…

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"I Wasn't Ready to Say Goodbye"

By Brook Noel and Pamela D. Blair, Ph.D

Originally published in 2000 and updated in 2008, “I Wasn’t Ready to Say Goodbye” is a book about coping with and healin…

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"Finding Your Way after Your Parent Dies"

By Richard Gilbert

Richard Gilbert, an Anglican priest and the author of “Finding Your Way after Your Parent Dies: Hope for Grieving Adults…

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"The Tiger's Wife"

By Téa Obreht

When Téa Obreht wrote “The Tiger’s Wife,” she was a 25-year-old student studying at Cornell University. Born in Yugoslav…

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"The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing,"

By Kevin Young

“The Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing” is a collection of 150 poems on the heartbreaking, confusing, universal…

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"Finding Peace When Your Heart is in Pieces"

By Dr. Paul Coleman

 When you read Dr. Paul Coleman’s “Finding Peace When Your Heart is in Pieces,” don’t expect to get simple, cookie-cutte…

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"Rookery"

By Traci Brimhall

Death can feel so ominous — so frightening — lurking in the corners of life with shadow cat’s eyes. I spent much of my…

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"How to Heal a Grieving Heart"

By Doreen Virtue and James Van Praagh

I confess I am not religious by nature, but I am open to what others embrace. Last month I was at a bookstore in Portlan…

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Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki And His Years of Pilgrimage

By Haruki Murakami

In high school, a man named Tsukuru Tazaki was once part of a loving group of five friends; suddenly, he lost them all w…

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The Dogs of Babel

By Carolyn Parkhurst

When I first read The Dogs of Babel, I was probably a bit too young to fully appreciate the nuanced balance of grief and…

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"Death, Society and the Human Experience"

By Robert J. Kastenbaum

Robert J Kastenbaum’s Death, Society, and the Human Experience is an almost 500 page text divided into 15 chapters that …

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"Tomorrow Comes"

By Donna Mebane

The unthinkable happened to Donna Mebane: her 19 year-old daughter Emma died suddenly in her sleep. She wasn’t sick; she…

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"About What Was Lost, 20 Writers on Miscarriage, Healing, and Hop…

By Jessica Berger Gross

When the book About What Was Lost, 20 Writers on Miscarriage, Healing, and Hope came into our office, I grabbed it to pe…

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"History of a Suicide: My Sister's Unfinished Life"

By Jill Bialosky

When news of Robin Williams’ suicide broke, I was already immersed in reading Jill Bialosky’s History of a Suicide, a be…

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"Birds of America"

By Lorrie Moore

Lorrie Moore has made an appearance on this blog before for a reason. Her simple, incisive writing and her tragically ev…

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"Life of Pi"

By Yann Martel

Everyone confronts grief differently. We all, consciously or unconsciously, create ways to cope and continue living as w…

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"Griefprints"

By Radha Stern

Griefprints, by Radha Stern, describes itself as “A Practical Guide for Supporting a Grieving Person.” The author gives …

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"The Art of Being a Healing Presence"

By James E Miller

The Art of Being a Healing Presence, a slim 2001 book written by counselor and ordained Methodist minister James Miller,…

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"The Namesake"

By Jhumpa Lahiri

The family saga is a tried-and-true literary genre, one that usually follows a central clan as they grow, marry, have ch…

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“The Changeling”

By Thomas Middleton and William Rowley

A couple months ago, I mentioned a book of plays that I had loaned to my mom. I didn’t think I’d ever bring that story u…

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"Healing After Loss"

By Martha W. Hickman

As we approach the holidays, it can be both a joyful and a sorrowful time for those who have lost loved ones.  For a sea…

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“Undertaker Please Drive Slow”

By Jo Ann Beard

In December 1997, Cheri Tremble made the decision to engage in assisted dying, with the help of Dr. Jack Kevorkian. Seve…

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"Death of a Salesman"

By Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller’s most famous play, obviously has death in it; but I would argue that the most tragic…

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“Misery”

By Anton Chekhov

Last week I wrote about the shock that follows hearing of a death. This week I’m analyzing the short story “Misery,” by …

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“The Secret Life of Bees”

By Sue Monk Kidd

Growing up has never been easy for any one. In Sue Monk Kidd’s critically acclaimed first novel The Secret Life of Bees,…

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"On Death and Dying"

By Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

On Death and Dying remains one of the most influential American psychiatrists of the twentieth century. Her “five stages…

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"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao"

By Junot Diaz

As its title suggests, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao tells the life story of a young individual, up until his dea…

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"Making Toast"

By Roger Rosenblatt

In his 2010 memoir, Making Toast, Roger Rosenblatt paints a beautiful portrait of what it means to lose someone too soon…

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“Gravel”

By Alice Munro

Last week I examined a short story by O. Henry, and this week, I’m looking at a story by a famous recipient of the O. He…

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"Pleasure Healing: The Hand-Sized Guide to Self-Healing"

By Mary Beth Janssen

During a recent visit to the Kabuki Gardens of San Francisco’s Japantown (where I’d stopped in for a Swedish massage), I…

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